The unprecedented use of drones in the Ukraine war have transformed the modern battlefield. At the same time, nothing has changed.

The Human Rights Council of the United Nations released “Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions,” by Special Rapporteur Prof. Dr. Agnès S. Callamard, which holds that the successful drone strike in January killing Gen. Soleimani violated international law.

The Trump administration is expected to soon release a new policy that will change the United States’ current approach to drone strikes and other targeted-killing operations in places such as Yemen, Somalia, and Libya.

The promise of risk-free war offered by unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) obscures the dangers of waging war by remote control. The challenge for the American people is to make sure Washington employs this new technology in a way that conforms to America’s values.