Will Ukraine deploy lethal autonomous drones against Russia?

Ukraine has developed drones that are capable of finding targets autonomously, a Ukrainian military leader has claimed, raising the prospect that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war could see the first confirmed use of'killer robots' in armed conflict. Ukrainian Lieutenant Colonel Yaroslav Honchar gave details in an interview with Ukrainian news agency UNIAN on 13th October. Honchar is co-founder of Aerorozvidka ("Aerial Intelligence"), a team of around a thousand volunteer drone enthusiasts and technologists set up in 2014 to develop and use drones and other technology. Honchar says their drones already fly scout missions autonomously and mentions the possibility of automated strikes, but did not say such strikes had been carried out. Aerorozvidka declined to comment on the issue when asked by New Scientist.