e-Points rewards – Ukraine’s “e-Points” system rewards battlefield strikes with points that can be exchanged for drones, robots, electronic warfare tools and other gear—nudging units away from easy kills and toward higher-value targets in Russia’s rear areas, hundreds of kilomet
For units on Ukraine’s front lines. the shift is not subtle: the points they earn are no longer just tied to what is closest to them. The system is pushing teams to chase targets that are harder to reach—often far behind Russian lines—because those missions translate into bigger. more useful purchases through the government’s Brave1 Marketplace.
Ukraine’s “e-Points” system rewards soldiers for eliminating Russian soldiers or destroying prized military equipment. with video confirmation uploaded to the military. Those points can then be used to buy drones. ground robots. electronic warfare systems. and other gear from the government’s Brave1 Marketplace. Officials have said it works “like Amazon,” but for military technology.
The incentive design has been built to change behavior across the entire front. Kateryna Stepanenko. a Russian warfare expert at the US-based Institute for the Study of War. said it works like a lever: it “incentivize[s] all of the units along the entire front line to strive to go after targets that are more challenging to pursue. And I think that’s having effects.”.
The system’s evolution matters. Ukraine unveiled e-Points last year, initially offering the largest rewards for strikes on valuable equipment such as tanks and launchers. It was later widened to reward reconnaissance missions and operations involving ground robotic systems. as well as actions by snipers and mobile air-defense teams shooting down Shahed attack drones.
Stepanenko described what that changes on the ground. Previously, soldiers could focus on “things that are really in front of you,” like infantry and tanks. Now. she said. they are incentivized to “go after these very complex and more challenging targets. ” including rear-area infrastructure. barracks. and trucks located more than 100 kilometers from the front.
Dmytro “Liber” Zhluktenko. a former drone pilot who is now a lessons-learned analyst with Ukraine’s 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment “RAID. ” said the system was “absolutely” encouraging Ukrainian soldiers to go after different types of targets than they were before. “That’s the whole point of the system,” he said. He added that while it is not perfect. it “really creates the incentive for more strategically viable targets” identified by Ukraine’s general staff. Instead of hitting what is easiest to find. units pursue targets that better match Ukraine’s broader strategy and fit together more cohesively.
At the command level, the points framework gives Ukraine a way to alter battlefield priorities quickly. If the military decides it needs more of a certain target destroyed, it can raise the reward. Units then have a direct reason to adapt, because the points translate into access to the equipment they need.
“This is about clear incentives. fair rewards. and the rapid scaling of effective solutions. ” Ukraine’s defense minister. Mykhailo Fedorov. said in March. describing what the system changed. “Military units receive resources based on results: the more targets they destroy, the more points they earn. This is a direct incentive that enables units to strengthen their capabilities with new technologies.”.
Ukraine’s defense ministry said in late April that more than 181,000 drones, ground robots, electronic warfare systems, and other equipment had been supplied to the front via the e-Points system since the start of the year.
The marketplace system is also part of a wider push to hit deeper. plan better. and coordinate more of Ukraine’s forces around bigger battlefield goals. Ukraine has been leveraging new types of drones to strike Russian logistics and other targets farther from the front. while its Delta battlefield-management system fuses intelligence from satellites. combat units. and drone feeds so commanders can look beyond immediate targets and plan more deliberately.
For troops, Zhluktenko said, the points offer something commanders don’t always promise: choice. Units can use points to buy the gear they actually want, rather than take what the military assigns them. If they take out a Russian soldier. he said. “we would be able to buy a drone for that money. ” but “this specific drone that we like and need that our operators are used to. it’s not something that would be pushed onto us from the Ministry of Defense.”.
That matters in a broader sense, too. Ukraine’s military has worked in a more decentralized way than its Western counterparts. with units often working directly with weapons makers—buying. testing. and helping develop technology instead of waiting for centralized decisions. Soldiers and arms makers say this decentralization is one reason Ukraine has been able to develop and field new weapons quickly.
Scott Boston. a land warfare expert at RAND Corporation. said last month at a drone summit in Latvia that the marketplace soldiers use with their points also helps Ukraine innovate quickly and figure out what front-line soldiers actually want. “Commanders can ‘bring something in. they can experiment with it. they can see how it works.’ It also sends a ‘marketplace signal. ’ he said. telling the military and industry what gear there’s demand for and what is unnecessary.”.
Taken together, the e-Points system is built to do more than reward bravery or speed on the battlefield. It gives Ukraine’s command a mechanism to redirect effort—rewarding kills. destroying equipment. and verifying results in video—while ensuring the rewards can be converted into technology that supports higher-value missions. including targets that sit well beyond the front lines.
In March. Fedorov framed the system as a change in approach. and the numbers Ukraine reported by late April suggest the incentive machine has been running at scale: more than 181. 000 pieces of equipment supplied to the front via e-Points since the start of the year. And in the day-to-day reality described by people who have flown and analyzed drones. the practical effect is clear—units are encouraged to reach for harder. more strategically aligned targets. because the system makes those choices pay back in equipment they believe in and know how to use.
Ukraine e-Points Brave1 Marketplace drones electronic warfare battlefield incentives Mykhailo Fedorov Kateryna Stepanenko Dmytro Liber Zhluktenko Delta battlefield-management system Shahed drones RAND Corporation