Russian drones Russian drones
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov pictured attending an APEC Economic Leaders forum in Thailand in 2022. Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

Russia's defense minister said on Friday that the military was using AI-enabled drones in the war on Ukraine and urged more training for troops on how to use the weapons.

Minister Andrei Belousov said the drones were playing a critical role on the battlefield.

The defense ministry also posted a video of Belousov reviewing a center for next-generation drone technologies and consulting with drone operators, Reuters reported.

A Russian soldier displayed a simulation of a drone outfitted with AI-powered automatic image recognition attacking a small boat.

"It locks onto the target and is already capturing it," the soldier told him. "Even if there is a loss of control, it will steer the drone towards it."

Belousov said two detachments with AI-powered drones have been deployed in eastern Ukraine, as well as in the Belgorod and Kursk regions of Russia, Reuters said.

"The guys are fighting, and fighting very successfully," Belousov said.

He said the soldiers need to be trained in how to use the drones as the defense ministry said it will create five more units to carry out drone attacks "around the clock."

President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow will increase drone production to create about 1.4 million of them this year, Reuters reported.

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