UNITED24
Fiber optic cables in a field in Ukraine
Drone cable webs on the battlefield. Material may stand in the environment for over 600 years.
In full technological intensification of the conflict between the Russia and Ukraine, a new and alarming consequence arose: a huge accumulation of fiber optic cable residues left by Kamikaze drones.
This technology, which has revolutionized the modern war, now threatens to provoke a long -term ecological catastrophe.
Os FPV drones (First Person Vision), guided by fiber optical, multiplied in the battlefield as a response to the sophisticated electronic war systems.
Unlike conventional radio -controlled drones – vulnerable to interference and blockages – these devices advanced a cable of a coil while flyingensuring safe and accurate communication.
However, Each mission leaves behind kilometers of these cables fine plastics, which are rarely recoveredcontinues the.
The consequences are already visible in photographs and videos spread on social networks: fields, forests, rivers and villages covered by a dense waste networkwith soldiers and agricultural machinery stuck between the wires. The material, mostly plastic fiber optic (POF), may persist in the environment during Over 600 yearswarn experts.
The impact on fauna by flora It is serious. Poultry, bats and terrestrial mammals are in danger of entrying and dying. Cables also function as physical barriers, blocking the movement of animals and making it difficult to access vital resources. In addition, they make agricultural work, fire fighting, and future unimit operations difficult.
Os chemical risks They are not negligible either. Over time, cables release microplastics, nanoplastic and toxic compounds such as PFAs, known as “eternal chemicals” due to their persistence in soil and water. Its combustion in a war context aggravates the problem, emitting dangerous gases.
Both Russia and Ukraine are developing and producing these mass drones, and there is already interest from powers such as the United States and China.
However, the front of combat becomes an invisible but lasting trap: a web of war that can last for centuries, long after the end of the conflict.
