Drones have given Ukraine an advantage in its defense against Russia – initially. Now the tide seems to be turning.
DONETSK - There are so many drones patrolling the Ukrainian front line, alert to any sign of movement, that Ukrainian and Russian troops have little ability to move around the battlefield without being spotted and blown up.
Instead, they rush from one foxhole to the next on their missions, hoping that the pilots manning the enemy drones overhead aren't skilled enough to find them in them. Experienced drone pilots who have honed their skills on the front lines can stalk a single foot soldier and pursue them into hideouts and trenches until they die.
Ukraine News: Drones turn “gray zone” into “death zone”
The proliferation of small drones in Ukraine has turned the area beyond the zero line - usually known as the "gray zone" - into the "death zone," according to Oleksandr Nastenko, commander of Code 9.2, a drone unit of the 92nd Moving at night under the prying eyes of enemy drones is an instant death,” he said.
Cheap drones used in Ukraine have transformed modern warfare - initially giving Ukrainian troops an advantage on a battlefield where they are constantly outnumbered and outgunned. “This is the evolution of our survival,” Nastenko said.
But the Russians quickly caught on and began mass producing their own drones.
Ukraine war: “We are experiencing a blitzkrieg among the drones”
What followed was a glut of deadly disposable drones and electronic warfare devices called jammers that disrupt their flights. The most common are first-person view, or FPV, drones, which are typically controlled by a pilot wearing a headset and holding a remote controller.
“What we’re seeing right now is a drone blitzkrieg,” said Andrew Coté, head of BRINC Drones, a Seattle-based drone manufacturer that is sending equipment to Ukraine. Coté said drones are changing the game in Ukraine in the same way tanks changed the game in World War I. “It’s a bit of a standoff,” he said, “because if you’re out in the open, you’re going to be hunted.
The technological advances have likely saved lives because the drone pilots can operate slightly further from the zero or line of contact than traditional infantry. But the flood of drones, many equipped with thermal imaging cameras that work at night, has also reduced the space in which troops can move safely without being detected - leading to heavy casualties and both in recent months largely prevented sides from making major breakthroughs.
Russia's air force is superior to Ukraine's in war
These conditions - combined with extensive minefields and a shortage of ammunition and soldiers - now make it virtually impossible for Ukraine to retake large swathes of its territory, as it managed to do in 2022.
Russia, which has large missile stocks and a superior air force, took advantage of Ukraine's ammunition shortage to capture the strategically important city of Avdiivka in the east of the country and is now pushing to conquer more territory. On Saturday, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky warned that the situation on the Eastern Front had “significantly deteriorated.”
Ukraine will rely largely on drones to make it harder for the Russians to advance without endangering expensive Russian combat vehicles.
With large-scale drone production underway in Russia, Ukraine is aiming to produce more than a million drones this year in hopes of preventing further Russian advances.
This task becomes all the more urgent as Kiev receives less and less artillery and anti-aircraft ammunition from its Western partners, including the United States. For months, Republicans in Congress have blocked a $60 billion relief package proposed by President Biden.
David L. Stern in Kiev contributed to this report.
By Siobhán O'Grady and Kostiantyn Khudov.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on April 14, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation and an abridged version to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.