Ukraine's drone bonus system: War as a digital scorecard
The Ukrainian army has introduced a points system where combat effectiveness is measured by the number of destroyed targets. For many, this is an innovation - in exchange for neutralising the enemy, units receive drones. For some, this is a concerning blurring of the line between human and target. "Whether we like it or not, we have to evaluate facts, not dreams," said General Bogusław Pacek in an interview with WP Tech.
War is changing before our eyes, but one thing remains constant - the need for motivation. The Ukrainian army has introduced a system called Army of Drones Bonus. The idea seems simple; in exchange for neutralising the enemy, a given unit receives points. In this way, soldiers can receive six points for hitting a soft target, twenty for damaging a tank, forty for destroying it, and up to fifty points for destroying a mobile missile system. In exchange for a successful attack, documented by a video recording, the units are supposed to receive new armaments. According to the commanders of the Ukrainian forces, this type of strategy is intended to increase the efficiency of actions on the front and additionally equalise the chances for smaller units to receive new equipment.
The e-points system is only part of Ukraine's strategy
The Army of Drones Bonus project was launched by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation at the end of 2024 and is part of a strategy that envisages decentralisation of management. The plans are ambitious, as the bonus system is soon to be integrated with Brave1 Market - a shopping platform launched by the Ukrainian government in April 2025. This idea, sometimes called the "military Amazon," aims to directly connect units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with advanced military technology manufacturers.
The Ukrainian military assumes that this solution will mobilise soldiers to effectively combat the enemy. However, the points system in wartime conditions can significantly change soldiers' internal motivation and lead to calculating the value of a given action, which promotes the commodification of violence. The psychological effects of rewarding violence are difficult to determine, but the idea is not new.
Similar systems have appeared before
Such (or similar) reward systems have already been present in military operations. Currently, the Russian Federation uses, among other things, a financial motivation system during the war in Ukraine. Both officers and rank-and-file soldiers receive additional remuneration in exchange for hitting tanks, aeroplanes, or destroying forces.
Motivation system and patriotic upbringing
The points system in wartime conditions can significantly change soldiers' internal motivation. Instead of acting out of a sense of duty, loyalty to comrades-in-arms, or the idea of defending the homeland, they may start to be guided by calculations—how much a given action is worth. This promotes effective counteraction of the opponent's violence. As emphasised by General Bogusław Pacek, the best results come from patriotic upbringing, understanding of tasks, and conviction of their validity. However, as observed in conflicts, remuneration and motivational systems play an increasingly important role.
As General Bogusław Pacek adds, the experience gained from military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, where soldiers also received increased allowances for participating, for example, in patrols outside the base, indicates that soldiers were more willing to undertake actions of greater risk.
Rewarding with points for "eliminating" the enemy favours treating the opponent not as a human, but as a target that brings benefits. This is a classic mechanism of dehumanisation, known from highly brutalised conflicts. Such a reward system can weaken internal moral inhibitions, especially in less experienced soldiers. Moreover, functioning in such realities can potentially significantly hinder reintegration into civilian life. If for many months or years a soldier functioned in a system in which his value was measured by the number of "successful actions" for which he received in some way "grades" and rewards, returning to everyday life, where such conversions do not exist, can lead to a deep sense of bewilderment or even social alienation.
is war beginning to resemble a simulation?
Due to the nature of attacks, soldiers may feel like they're not killing people but characters. This can result in a distorted perception of the conflict in which citizens of both countries are dying. Media often liken this strategy to a game, yet it is an element of a new-generation war. A war in which new technology plays a strategic role. As Dr. Katarzyna Derlatka from the University of Łódź emphasises, war currently takes place on many levels. It is not only a hybrid war but also a digital one, where progress forces the use of unconventional methods.
A soldier motivated by reward enters a task mode, may compete, and feel needed. This benefits individuals but also entire groups. The new mechanism of conducting war, however, eliminates empathy. Thanks to progress, war often seems to be a cruel digital illusion: drone pilots target enemy drones, thus increasing distance and making the hell of war more unreal.
The introduction of a points system in the Ukrainian army, although it may increase operational efficiency and mobilise units to act, raises a number of serious consequences and questions of an ethical, psychological, and social nature. The line between efficiency and dehumanisation blurs. The armed conflict increasingly resembles a digital simulation, where real human life is reduced to a target for elimination.
