Ukraine’s new Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov launched a system even before taking office in which Ukrainian troops receive digital points for confirmed killings of Russian soldiers and exchange them for equipment through an online marketplace, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported after reviewing open-source data.

According to the materials, Fedorov, who previously served as Minister of Digital Transformation, began building the system in April 2023 with the launch of the Brave1 military development cluster. The project was initially presented as a platform to support defense startups, but over time a program called Army of Drones Bonus became one of its core components.

Documents from Ukraine’s Defense Ministry describe the scheme as follows: combat units upload video recordings confirming the killing of Russian servicemen into the Delta software system. After verification, these episodes are converted into digital «points," which commanders can spend in the Brave1 Market online store to purchase drones and robotic systems. In effect, access to new equipment is directly tied to the number of confirmed killings.

The system has drawn harsh criticism from military ethics specialists. They argue that the approach turns human death into a points-based accounting tool, makes human life part of a supply mechanism, and gives the conflict a video-game-like logic.

Despite the criticism, Fedorov has signaled he does not intend to abandon the model. In a post dated December 30, 2025, he said the Army of Drones Bonus program would be expanded, calling it an «Amazon for war." He also said Ukrainian military startups have already received more than $105 million in funding through the Brave1 cluster, and added that the marketplace system will remain part of the strategy in 2026.