Ex-Zelensky Aide Says Ukrainian Army Uses ‘Terminator’ Drones That Make Russians Think Skynet is Chasing Them

Sarah RumpfApr 7th, 2022, 5:24 pm
 
Terminator robot skynet in scary red light

Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images.

The Ukrainian army has come up with a clever way to save ammunition, a former advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky said, by modifying commercial drones to resemble something out of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator films, scaring Russian soldiers into thinking “something that belongs to Skynet” is chasing them so they lead the drone back to their base and the Ukrainians can then blast them into the afterlife.

Igor Novikov shared the humorous anecdote in an appearance on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, telling host Nicolle Wallace that he wanted to share “an uplifting story” after a somber discussion of the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers against civilians in areas like Bucha and Irpin.

Novikov described the “clever, creative solution that our soldiers have found not to waste ammunition, not to waste artillery shells,” noting “we don’t do carpet bombing.”

The soldiers were taking commercial drones with cameras and camouflaging them “to look like something out of the worst Terminator movie, so it looks incredibly scary,” he explained, and then flying them around the areas where the Russian soldiers were:

What would you do if you’re a Russian soldier and you see something that belongs to Skynet? You run. Where do you run to? You run to your mama. Because you don’t have your mama, you run to your base.

That way they lead us to their bases and no camouflage works against that, and then our artillery shoots at the base and that way we protect, you know, our civilians, we protect, you know, the land of Ukraine from any collateral damage, and we don’t waste any shells. So, you know, if there’s a major problem, just be creative.

Wallace laughed and called Novikov’s story “fantastic” and an illustration of how “underestimating the prowess of the Ukraine military is a global affliction right now.”

She asked Novikov for his analysis of how the Ukrainian military was faring, and he replied that while they continued to “need weapons, weapons, weapons,” they did feel like the tide was turning and people were starting to become more optimistic as more weapons were arriving.

“The Ukrainian army is incredibly creative with what we have,” he emphasized, noting several examples of using different types of weaponry to shoot down helicopters.

“And, look, we do so well with what we have and now I can kind of think one of the reasons not giving weapons fast enough is because the world is afraid we’ll reach Moscow before this war is over,” he quipped.

As John Connor might say, “Майбутнє не написано. Немає долі, крім того, що ми робимо для себе.”

UPDATE 5:45 pm ET: There are multiple videos being circulated online that purport to show Russian soldiers running away from Ukrainian drones (sometimes referred to as a UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicle) and leading them back to their bases. We cannot confirm the content of these posts, or that the drones were modified to be “Terminator” drones, but the end result does resemble what Novikov described.

And once more, with a soundtrack:

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.