The active use of drones by both the Ukrainian and Russian troops in the war ordered by the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, against Ukraine in February 2022 has expanded the area of gray areas and combat areas in the front line, as reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in a report, citing the Ukrainian army.
The experts affirm that the continuous technological and tactical innovations of the Ukrainian combatants and the Russian occupants on the battlefield continue to change the nature of the war, which is becoming a war characterized mainly by the “distance and long -range fight”, as published by the media .
ISW analysts refer to the Yuri “LYS” evaluation, chief sergeant of the Battalion of Unmanned systems of the 24th Independent Mechanized Brigade. “Today the war resembles a distance and long -range fight than to a battle of infantry or armored vehicles. The distances have increased, the death zones have increased,” said the Ukrainian sergeant.
In 2024, as explained by the sergeant, those gray areas in dispute had a depth that went from 500 meters to two kilometers. Now, the intensive use of drones has expanded gray areas in some areas of the front line to five or even seven kilometers.
According to the Ukrainian military, the occupants are improving and expanding the capacities of their unmanned systems, in addition to copying the tactics of the Ukrainian forces. In particular, to intercept enemy drones and perform remote mining. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are using drones successfully to protect critical areas of the front line and minimize the shortage of personnel and equipment.
