Equipped with electronic war systems and drone detection, these new Russian “modern cavalry” units with 6 to 16 soldiers perform various missions: recognition, infiltration, logistical support and flank attacks
In a battlefield where the armored, drones and artillery dominated, Russia surprised by turning motorcycles into tactical assault tools. With high -speed movements by Ukrainian plains, Russian motorized groups challenge the logic of modern war, facing FPV drones and artillery fire with agility and boldness. The strategy has obtained some catastrophic results, but also successes at various points in the front. For the Ukrainian military who fight the Russian units on the ground, it is far from a revolutionary military innovation. However, this did not prevent the Ukrainian Armed Forces from creating their own units.
War is a constant cat and rat game, where each side tries to adapt to find a solution to the threats created on the other side. Without air supremacy and artillery and drones to make any surface operation difficult, both Russia and Ukraine have moved to operations with small units to make movements more difficult to detect, minimizing losses. But in 2024, Russia added a new element: motorcycles all the terrain, used in lightning operations against very specific points of the combat front.
The analysts of the Frontelligence Insight, based on intercepted Russian communications, soldiers’ interviews, and reports from Ukrainian drone operators, highlight the agility of motorcycles on the battlefield, which escape the artillery and complicate drone attacks. However, the tactic has serious limitations: the small size of the units prevents the exploration of initial successes, and the lack of shielded protection results in high rates of lows.
Equipped with electronic war systems and drone detection, these new Russian “modern cavalry” units with 6 to 16 soldiers perform various missions: recognition, infiltration, logistical support and flank attacks. The speed and small dimensions of vehicles, compared to Soviet armor, allow you to escape the artillery and transport heavy weapons such as gun spear and anti-tanker missiles, offering tactical flexibility to the Russian military.
In the offensive recorded by the Ukrainian drone operators, these groups attack with six to eight motorcycles, with one or two passengers per vehicle. Almost always one of the group’s motorcycles is equipped with drone detection systems, which act as a warning for the presence of enemy drones and other threats. Depending on the size of the unit, they are equipped with electronic war systems.
The Russian workhorse for frontline logistics is now a fast motorcycle.
Although still an easy target for FPVs, the time spent traversing the killing zone is minimized.— Roy🇨🇦 (@GrandpaRoy2)
“Increased use of motorcycles through Russia is an adaptation in response to widespread Ukrainian drones attacks against Russian armored vehicles and unsustainable armor losses that Russian forces suffered in late 2023 and 2024,” the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
But behind each attack, a brutal reality is hidden. Each Russian success is conquered with a high human sacrifice. But Moscow accepts high mortality rates, using low -training recruits, attracted to high wages, to wear Ukrainian defenses and identify weaknesses on the front line. According to the deputy chief of the Russian Security Council, Dmitri Medvedev, 30,000 soldiers sign a contract monthly, enough to cover the losses of the offensive.
Ukrainian FPV drones dismantle a Russian “combat biker” assault group during a failed breakthrough in the Donetsk region. After running into obstacles, the fighters tried hiding in the bushes — but that didn’t help much.
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated)
This strategy explores the scarcity of Ukrainian recruits, which, since the end of 2023, have been required to disperse their units in small groups responsible for large sectors of the terrain, facilitating rapid russian infiltration that can reach the rear and threaten siege. Videos on social networks show the difficulty of reaching motorcycles in motion, even by experienced operators.
The cost of motorcycles is part of the Kremlin’s attraction strategy. Each motorcycle only costs between two thousand and four thousand euros, a small fraction of the value of a armored. Since the beginning of the invasion in 2022, Russia has lost more than four thousand tanks and eight thousand vehicles armored, according to Oryx group analysts that check the losses of the conflict in open sources. A significant part of these losses, more than 70% in some front sectors, were caused by cheap FPV drones, supported by powerful surveillance drones.
Even the costs and maintenance time are much lower than those of the complex armored vehicles that require specialized technicians and the use of more difficult to obtain spare parts.
But Moscow doesn’t have enough production capacity to produce all the motorcycles you need for your gigantic military tract. This has caused the Russian Defense Ministry to have found in China the solution to this problem, as Chinese companies can deliver large amounts of vehicles at reduced prices than the Russian industry.
However, the tactic has its limitations. To take advantage of the advantage that speed gives to these vehicles, Russia is required to use them in the Ukrainian summer. During autumn and winter, this type of attacks becomes virtually impossible, as mud and snow remove these units one of its most important attributes, its speed, which guarantees them the surprise effect.
“Despite the term ‘assault’ in its name, these units are not only used for direct assault attacks. In practice, their roles are more diverse, from fun maneuvers and recognition to infiltration behind the line, logistics and flank support during larger attacks” can be read in the report.
On the front line, the Ukrainian forces look at these units with some skepticism. Although they recognize their usefulness for missions such as recognition or logistics, they highlight the vulnerability to drones and artillery, considering the tactic away from revolutionary. Still, in May 2025, Ukraine created the 425th separate robbery regiment, a “modern cavalry” to break Russian positions and quickly change the direction of the attacks.
