Russian soldiers' fear of Ukrainian drones leads to tragic consequences

Since the beginning of summer, the Russians have been using a tactic of wave infantry attacks with sparse support from tanks and armoured personnel carriers on most sections of the front. The Ukrainians first break the attack with a strong artillery strike, and then the drone operators literally hunt down individual soldiers.

Even during breaks between assaults, the drone units are not idle, conducting so-called sweeps. Operators hover over the front line and its immediate rear, searching for moving or hidden Russian soldiers. The number of drones in operation is increasing rapidly.

Kyiv has expanded its drone forces to the level of battalions and regiments, numbering around 900 to 1,000 soldiers. These are often self-sufficient units with their own technical support, vehicle fleets, and support and logistics companies. They have become a significant military force and, above all, a psychological tool that effectively undermines Russian morale.

The Ukrainians use FPV drones very commonly due to their low production costs, ease of operation, and fairly long standby time, allowing them to fly over a chosen area for several hours waiting for the right target. They are quite effective, especially when considering the cost of a single artillery shell. It is much cheaper and simpler to eliminate enemy personnel using drones.

For the last eighteen months, the front has mostly been reinforced by mobilised reservists from Russia: poorly trained, demoralised and not very eager to fight. These are the ones the Ukrainians have focused on. A literal hunt for individual soldiers began, intended to induce a constant state of threat in the Russians and push them further into the ground.

The tactic of psychological attrition is known from the trench warfare on the Western Front during the Great War. Over 100 years ago, soldiers were hunted by snipers, artillerymen, and heavy machine gun crews. Soldiers had to hide in trenches, where life was concentrated.

Nowadays, even in trenches, one cannot feel safe. Drones carrying suspended grenades hover over the lines. The aim is to instil in the Russians a sense that they are always in the Ukrainians’ crosshairs and discourage them from fighting.

This works quite well, considering the statements of prisoners of war. Mobilised soldiers cannot withstand the constant state of threat psychologically. To the extent that they sometimes commit suicide at the mere sight of an approaching drone.

Several such incidents have been recorded. One of the most well-known was a film from May 2023, when near Bakhmut, a soldier wounded by a drone blew himself up with a grenade at the sight of another approaching drone. Another shot himself.

Russian soldiers often panic at the sight of a drone. There have been cases of trying to shoot down an FPV drone with sticks, brooms, or stones. In most cases, these methods did not work, and Russian units are not widely equipped with anti-drone equipment.

These types of directional emitters, like the Polish ones produced by Hertz, send an electromagnetic pulse with a range of 2 to 3 miles and cut communication with the operator. The simpler the system being neutralised, the greater the range. Once intercepted, small drones can be forced to land and taken over. Such equipment is hard to find on the Russian front.

The Russians, meanwhile, train their soldiers to evade drones through dodging manoeuvres, just like in a game of dodgeball. During testing of this solution, it turned out that the dodges were ineffective, and all soldiers got hit.

This does not work on the front either for many reasons. Firstly, it is very difficult to hear a drone in the noise of war. During my two visits to Kherson, seeing one was easier than hearing it. And they were seen very often, usually from a short distance. The Ukrainian soldiers who guided us only pointed with their hands. Fortunately, these were Ukrainian reconnaissance drones patrolling travel routes.

Secondly, drones are highly manoeuvrable, and their attachments provide a wide range of options, including carrying anything from mortar grenades to hand grenades to kamikaze drones with impact fuses.

That’s why the Russians resort to all kinds of methods. Lieutenant Anastazja Blyszczyk, spokeswoman for the 47th Independent Mechanised Brigade fighting near Pokrovsk, noted that the opponents often pretend to be dead or use their fallen comrades as shields.

- The place is littered with Russian corpses. Summer, everything stinks, and they lie next to them and pretend to be dead. Or even cover themselves with these bodies! - she says.

That’s why the Russians panic so much at FPV attacks. Ukrainian drones are starting to be mythologised by soldiers. In Zaporizhzhia, soldiers of the Chechen 141st Special Motorised Regiment claimed that Ukrainians have special drones with pincers, allowing them to abduct Russian soldiers.

The Chechens believe that Ukrainians deliberately hunt soldiers at night to hide their abduction method. The problem is that multi-rotor drones with a payload exceeding 330 lbs would have to be large, loud, and easy to spot. Moreover, Ukrainians do not possess such drones. This does not stop the Chechens from spinning their theories.

The Ukrainians, on the other hand, did not dispel this myth in any way. Russians' perception of drones is advantageous to them. In war, psychological victory is extremely important. And at least in this, the Ukrainians are winning.