Drones have flooded the skies of Ukraine, largely paralyzing the battlefield, and Ukrainian and Russian troops have virtually no way to move on the front without being spotted and blown up. This was written by The Washington Postand reported by UNN.
According to Oleksandr Nastenko, commander of the Code 9.2 drone unit in the 92nd Brigade of Ukrainian troops, the growing number of small drones in Ukraine has turned the area on both sides of the zero line, commonly referred to as the "gray zone," into a "death zone."
According to him, those who dare to move around day or night under the watchful eye of enemy drones "die immediately.
The drones deployed in Ukraine have changed modern warfare - and from the outset, they have given 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 picked up on the idea and began mass-producing their own drones.
The most common are FPV drones, which are usually operated by a pilot wearing a headset and holding a remote control.
"What we're seeing now is a blitzkrieg of drone warfare," says Andrew Cote, chief of staff at Seattle-based BRINC Drones, which is sending equipment to Ukraine. According to Cote, drones in Ukraine are changing the situation in the same way tanks did in World War I. "It's a pretty stalemate," he said, "because if you're out in the open, you're going to be hunted.
According to the newspaper, such a large number of drones, many of which are equipped with thermal imagers that operate at night, has reduced the space through which troops can safely move without being detected. This has resulted in heavy casualties and has largely prevented both sides from making major breakthroughs in recent months.
These conditions - coupled with widespread minefields and a shortage of ammunition and soldiers - now make it virtually impossible for Ukraine to recapture entire swaths of territory as it did in 2022
Previously, during the Russian invasion, Ukrainian forces relied on artillery to destroy important targets such as Russian tanks and stop Russia's advance. Now, a severe shortage of 155-millimeter shells means that even if drones detect dozens of targets, only a few of them will be attacked.