Ukraine-Russia Bayraktar TB2 drone attacks

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ukraine's air force has been using Turkish-made automated drones to hit Russian targets during the Russian invasion of the east European country.

The Ukrainian air force confirmed it had struck Russian targets, including a military convoy near Kherson, using Bayraktar TB2 drones during the early days Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Ukraine’s air force chief Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk described the drones as 'life-giving'. Human rights and non-governmental organisations have been calling for a global ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems (aka 'slaughterbots').

In October 2021, Ukrainian officials said its air force had used TB2 drones to destroy a Russian howitzer in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

A UN report published in March 2021 reported that Turkish-made STM Kargu-2 drones were used by Libyan forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) to hunt down units loyal to former Libyan Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar.

In January 2021, a Bayraktar TB2 drone was used to attack civilians sheltering in a school in Tigray, Ethiopia, leaving at least 59 dead, according to analysis by the Washington Post.