Ukraine's drone bonus system: Motivation or moral hazard?
The Ukrainian army has introduced a points system where the number of destroyed targets measures combat effectiveness. For many, this is an innovation—units receive drones in exchange for neutralizing the enemy. For others, it marks a concerning shift in the boundary between human and target. "Regardless of whether we like it or not, we have to assess facts and not dreams," commented General Bogusław Pacek in an interview with WP Tech.
The war is changing, but one thing remains constant—the need for motivation. The Ukrainian army has introduced a system called the Army of Drones Bonus. The idea is straightforward: a unit earns points in exchange for neutralizing the enemy. Soldiers can receive 6 points for hitting a soft target, 20 for damaging a tank, 40 for destroying it, and up to 50 points for killing a mobile rocket system. Successful attacks documented on video result in units receiving new weaponry. According to Ukrainian military commanders, this strategy aims to enhance operational efficiency at the front and provide smaller units with improved access to new equipment.
The e-points system is only part of Ukraine's strategy
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine initiated the Army of Drones Bonus project at the end of 2024. It is part of a broader strategy that includes decentralized management. The plans are ambitious, as the bonus system is soon to be integrated with Brave1 Market, a purchasing platform launched by the Ukrainian government in April 2025. This initiative, sometimes called the "military Amazon," seeks to connect units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine directly with manufacturers of advanced military technologies.
The Ukrainian military believes this solution will motivate soldiers to combat the enemy effectively. However, the points system in wartime conditions can significantly alter soldiers' internal motivation, causing them to calculate the value of their actions, which could lead to the commodification of violence. The psychological effects of rewarding violence are hard to determine, but the concept is not new.
Similar systems have appeared before
Reward systems of this nature (or similar ones) have been present in military operations. Currently, the Russian Federation employs a financial motivational system during the war in Ukraine. Both commanders and rank-and-file soldiers receive additional compensation for hitting tanks, aircraft, or destroying enemy forces.
Motivational system and patriotic upbringing
A points system in wartime conditions can strongly change soldiers' internal motivation. Instead of acting out of duty, loyalty to fellow soldiers, or defending their homeland, they may begin calculating the worth of a given action. This supports the effective counteraction of the opponent's violence. As General Bogusław Pacek emphasized, the best results come from a patriotic upbringing, understanding tasks, and believing in their rightness. However, as observed in conflicts, compensation and motivational systems play an increasingly significant role.
General Bogusław Pacek also notes that experiences from military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, where soldiers received increased compensation for participation in patrols outside the base, indicate that soldiers were more willing to undertake risky actions.
The points-based rewards for "eliminating" the enemy encourage treating the opponent not as a human, but as a target that brings benefits. This is a classic mechanism of dehumanization, familiar from fierce conflicts. Such a reward system can weaken internal moral inhibitions, especially among less experienced soldiers. Additionally, functioning in such realities may significantly hinder readaptation to non-combat life. If a soldier operates in a system where their value is measured by the number of "successful actions" for which they receive points and rewards for many months or years, returning to everyday life, where these metrics do not apply, may lead to confusion or social alienation.
Does war begin to resemble a simulation?
Due to the nature of the attacks, soldiers might feel as if they are not killing people but characters. This can lead to a disrupted perception of the conflict, in which citizens of both countries are dying. The media often compare this strategy to a game, but it is part of the new generation of warfare. Wars now involve advanced technology playing a strategic role. As emphasized by Dr. Katarzyna Derlatka from the University of Łódź, the battle is now fought on many levels. It is a hybrid war and a digital one, where progress necessitates using unconventional methods.
A soldier motivated by compensation enters a task-oriented mindset, enabling competition and a sense of purpose. This benefits individuals and entire groups. However, the new warfare mechanism reduces empathy. Due to technological progress, war often becomes a cruel digital illusion: drone pilots target enemy drones, increasing the distance and rendering the horror of war surreal.
Introducing the points system in the Ukrainian army might boost operational effectiveness and motivate units to act, but it raises a series of serious ethical, psychological, and social questions. The line between efficiency and dehumanization blurs as the armed conflict increasingly resembles a digital simulation, reducing real human life to a target for elimination.
