Ukraine expands 'ePoints' system that rewards battlefield kills with weapons credits

Prefer on Google by Yuliia Taradiuk, The Kyiv Independent news desk Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov speaks during a press conference after today's virtual meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group on April 15, 2026, in Berlin, Germany. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images) Ukraine's Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced an expansion on April 23 of the points system that military units use to purchase weapons on a government platform, Brave1 Market. Fedorov said that since the beginning of 2026, military units have ordered drones, unmanned ground vehicles, and electronic warfare equipment worth 14 billion UAH (around $319,000) via Brave1 Market using "ePoints." More than 181,000 units of purchased equipment have already been delivered to the battlefield, Fedorov added. The virtual points are awarded to military units that confirm the destruction of Russian equipment and personel using video recording from drones. About 95% of drone units have already joined the program. More recently, points have been awarded for sniper operations, army aviation combat operations, and mobile fire groups targeting Shahed-type drones. "We plan to expand the program to include new areas in the near future," Fedorov said. Fedorov added that ePoints allow units to independently select and order battle-tested equipment they need urgently. "It is important that such deliveries are made in addition to centralized government supplies." He also reported that in March 2026, over 35,300 Russian soldiers were killed or seriously wounded, and over 151,200 targets were destroyed. "Six months ago, enemy personnel became a priority target in the system. We increased the number of points awarded for each eliminated or seriously wounded occupier — and it paid off," Fedorov said. "We are developing 'ePoints' as a foundation for troop motivation and the mathematics of war." On Jan. 20, Fedorov said during a meeting with the media that Ukraine aims to "kill 50,000 Russians per month." Moscow and Kyiv rarely officially report their own losses. Ukraine estimates that Russia's overall casualties during the full-scale war have surpassed 1,320,000 . Despite the heavy losses, Russia has been able to make marginal advances in Ukraine's front line region as it is able to offset its casualties through fresh contract soldiers. The Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState reported that Russian forces occupied 4,336 square kilometers (1,674 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in 2025, accounting for less than 1% of the country In turn, Kyiv has faced increasingly serious manpower shortages, particularly among infantry units holding the front line.