Ukraine holds world's first all-drone military parade on 35th Independence Day

Published Aug 24, 12:16 PM UTC

On August 24, 2026, Ukraine held what organizers described as the world's first military parade composed entirely of unmanned systems, marking the country's 35th Independence Day. The parade in Kyiv featured dozens of ground robotic systems for logistics, reconnaissance, and combat missions; aerial interceptor, reconnaissance, and strike drones; and naval kamikaze drones on the Dnipro River, including versions with anti-aircraft missiles. The event follows Ukraine's formal establishment of the Unmanned Systems Forces as a dedicated military branch in June 2024, which officials claim is a global first. This was the fifth Independence Day since Russia's full-scale invasion began. Kyiv has not held a conventional military parade since 2022, instead displaying destroyed Russian equipment in recent years.