[WATCH] Russia Experiments With Motorcycle Amphibious Landing

The Russian Marines are experimenting with amphibious landing using motorcycles, as seen in a recent propaganda video.

In the video shared by Russian war propagandist Aleksandr Sladkov on Saturday, two dirt bikes could be seen stowed on a speed boat during a training session, where the Russian Marines, concealed by smoke on the beach, first departed on the bikes to secure their positions before more infantrymen followed via subsequent speedboats.

Sladkov said the tactic “may be one of the options for activating the front in the coming spring or in the summer campaign.”

“Russian Marines are preparing to land on the Black Sea coast and on the high enemy bank of the Dnipro [River]. The training is being conducted by the 61st Marine Brigade (Dnieper group),” Sladkov said in his Telegram update.

The tactic likely restricts the terrain available for landing, with only those in shallow water and smooth surfaces suitable for such operations.

Military news outlet Militarnyi speculates that motorcycles “[allow] for faster movement to positions while under enemy fire,” particularly those coming from Ukrainian first-person view (FPV) drones.

Militarnyi says the speed and maneuverability of motorcycles can help Russian troops “take up more strategically favorable defensive positions, situated further from the shoreline.”

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Since the United States under Trump has effectively become a Putin ally, Ukraine from now on must rely only on Europe. To hang on to overly optimistic illusions would be suicidal.

Russian troops have been incorporating motorcycles in their assaults in its invasion of Ukraine.

In January, a video from Ukraine’s 5th Separate Assault Brigade shows Ukrainian drones flying straight at Russian troops attempting to break through Ukrainian defenses on dirt bikes near Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where they were picked off one by one.

In April 2024, Russian troops were seen advancing on Chinese-made motorcycles and golf carts. But unless supported with adequate suppressive fire, troops carrying out assaults in this way are often sent to their doom, as noted in a July 2024 analysis on Russian assaults near Vuhledar.

Russian troops have also been seen to make improvised modifications to their motorcycles to try to maximize their chances of survival against drones.

In one instance reported in July 2024, some were seen fitting their bikes with Russian UDSh training mines as improvised smoke canisters to help conceal their location. The mines discharge smoke for eight to 10 minutes once activated.

In other instances, Russian troops were seen equipping their light vehicles – including motorcycles – with rusty anti-drone “cope cages” during assaults on Kharkiv and Avdiivka in mid-2024, the effectiveness of which remains questionable.