Two years after a Russian defense think tank offered a cash reward for capturing an Estonian-made THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle in Ukraine, Russian forces appear to have seized one.

Photos of a damaged THeMIS, made by Milrem Robotics, were posted on Russian Telegram channels. A Milrem spokesperson confirmed awareness of the images but declined to comment.

Federico Borsari from the Center for European Policy Analysis noted that the vehicle in the photos resembles a THeMIS and features a Ukrainian flag, indicating it was supplied to Kyiv, Defense News reported.

Initially, the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) offered a one million ruble reward in 2022, which was increased to two million rubles (around $22,000) in early 2024.

Written by B.C. Begley