MOSCOW / RankWire.AI / – Russia is set to trial a minimum of 12,000 autonomous delivery robots over a span of three years across dozens of regions. This initiative establishes nationwide regulations for robotic couriers that deliver goods along streets, residential neighborhoods, and pedestrian zones. Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development crafted the legal framework for this testing phase, which was approved by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin through a government decree. Throughout the trial, authorities will monitor deployment figures, delivery counts, distances traveled, and compliance with operational standards.
Delivery robots are defined in the program as autonomous devices employing automated control systems to facilitate logistics and transport goods. They are permitted to operate on pavements, footpaths, cycle paths under the set regulations, and in residential, adjoining, or other pedestrian and cycling designated zones. This framework offers companies a regulated environment for deploying robotic couriers while enabling authorities to gather usage data. The experiment will span 34 Russian regions and the Sirius Federal Territory.
Several numerical goals have been set for this three-year testing period. Participating operators are required to deploy at least 12,000 delivery robots, which collectively are expected to cover at least 10.8 million kilometers and fulfill 10.8 million orders. Regulators will evaluate metrics such as active robots, total distance covered, and successful deliveries, along with recording any road incidents related to violations of the program’s requirements. These benchmarks are designed to create a unified system for assessing autonomous delivery operations across the involved territories.
National initiative establishes concrete targets for robot deliveries
This delivery initiative aligns with Russia’s broader efforts to expand autonomous vehicle operations within its transportation infrastructure. Over 120 self-driving freight trucks have already operated on key federal highways, traversing millions of kilometers, including routes such as the M-11 Neva, M-4 Don, Central Ring Road, and M-12 Vostok. The Transport Ministry has utilized the ERA-GLONASS platform to track data from these autonomous freight vehicles, which include models developed by Yandex, Navio, and Kamaz.
Russia has also advanced legislation for highly automated road transport, with draft federal regulations published earlier in 2026 detailing responsibilities for companies, vehicle operators, and others involved in automated transport. A separate plan for highly automated freight transport extends through 2035, operating alongside experimental legal regimes that permit autonomous systems to operate under specific conditions before comprehensive standards are adopted.
Robotic couriers are part of a larger automation initiative
Existing experimental rules already support robotic couriers in certain parts of Russia, and earlier plans announced in 2026 aimed to expand fleets by deploying thousands more delivery robots. The current three-year plan introduces a comprehensive framework with precise national targets for deployment, travel, and order fulfillment, providing regulators with consistent indicators for performance assessment in various regions and environments.
This program integrates last-mile delivery into Russia’s wider automated transport testing system. Authorities will analyze operational data to track how many robots are deployed, their usage levels, total deliveries, distances traveled, and incidents related to violations. Covering both large-scale deployment and routine operations, the trial employs a unified regulatory approach, aiming for participating robots to complete millions of deliveries within Russia’s designated testing zones by the end of the program.