Though drones cannot man the trenches, Ukrainian troops have increasingly relied on them to monitor frontline movements and act as a first line of defense before threats reach the soldiers themselves.
If Russian troops managed to slip past, only then did the infantries fire their rifles.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Outmanned by 10-to-1 on some fronts by Ukrainian accounts, the war has slowly morphed into a battle of men vs machines, based on testimonies from Ukrainian officers obtained by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Not just outmanned
“We just don’t have enough people to defend Pokrovsk,” a 25-year-old infantry platoon commander told the WSJ of the dire situation near the eastern hotspot.
He said despite Russia’s high casualty of roughly 7-to-1 compared to Ukraine, Kyiv troops were outgunned by 10-to-1 in that sector and likely require 10 times more troops to effectively halt Moscow’s advances near Pokrovsk.
Troop shortages on the front have been reported in recent months – but it is not just an issue of quantity but also quality, a sore point that reflects a systematic issue at large.
On Jan. 27, Forbes reported that Ukraine’s 157th Mechanized Brigade – formed by Kyiv as part of the seven 150th series brigades meant to showcase Ukraine’s manpower – quickly crumbled near Pokrovsk due to the lack of experienced troops.
Ukraine’s new 155th Brigade was also criticized for poor command and performance, with Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrsky admitting that there was a lack of drone support for the brigade.
Ukraine Advances 5km Inside Russia, Battles Rages in New Kursk Offensive
Critics said the 150th series brigades boasted numbers for show instead of integrating fresh troops with experienced veterans for better performance, and frontline troops’ comments to the WSJ appear to corroborate the accusations.
The WSJ writes: “Commanders around Pokrovsk say the quality of reinforcements has also become a problem, with most of the new arrivals recent conscripts in their 40s and 50s with little motivation to fight. Some abandon positions, they say, or refuse to go to first-line trenches.”
“One brigade commander said 30 men of the quality he had early in the war would be more effective than 100 of the men he has now.”
Replacing men with drones
The lack of men meant many tasks were now carried out by drones. Though some asserted that drones cannot replace infantries in particular scenarios, all agreed that it is an indispensable tool that is gaining more prominence.
Surveillance drones monitor the trenches, and drones are dispatched to pick off detected troops – only when the Russian troops get through do the Ukrainian infantries fire back with their rifles.
The WSJ cited its experience with an aerial-drone battalion from Ukraine’s 60th Mechanized Brigade as an example, which the publication said “almost [defended] the line on their own.”
The battalion’s commander, a senior lieutenant going by the call sign Munin, told the WSJ that as drone warfare proliferated in Ukraine, the first-person view (FPV) drones used daily to strike Russian troops also increased from 15 a day on a good day a year ago to at least 60 on a normal day now.
But there are shortcomings.
‘Drones can’t replace men’
Though some drones are equipped with thermal-imaging cameras to help identify troops in low-visibility environments, drones cannot fly in poor weather conditions, and foliage in spring hinders the line of sight and allow troops to slip past the surveillance.
On rainy and foggy days, Russian troops can also attack with larger armored vehicles, Munin said. However, large armored assaults have dropped noticeably in recent months, with speculation that drone proliferation has led to a non-replenishable attrition rate for Russian tanks.
On the other hand, once Russian troops identify a Ukrainian position, Russian troops have the air and numerical superiority, allowing them to pound it relentlessly with all they have to force Ukrainian troops to withdraw – an advantage that cannot be offset by drones.
“Artillery, glide bombs, everything … Until you can’t use the position as cover anymore,” Munin told the WSJ.
Another battalion commander near Pokrovsk told the WSJ that drones can disrupt but not stop Russian attacks.
“Drones can’t replace men,” he said. That said, he added, “the situation would be horrific” without drone support.
Drones also have difficulties identifying troops in urban settlements with houses, a situation where infantry remains indispensable.
The 25-year-old platoon commander said the same situation had forced Ukrainian troops to withdraw from a village south of Pokrovsk.
“We don’t have enough reinforcements,” he said. “We just kept moving back.”
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
