What More Russian Drones on the Battlefield Will Mean to the Ukrainian Soldiers

by Sputnik, Oleg Burunov [3-17-2024 published].

The Russian Armed Forces are widely using various modifications of unmanned aerial vehicles, among them FPV drones, in the special military operation zone to perform combat missions without the loss of military personnel.

In the next five months, the Russian military will have enough first­-person view (FPV) drones to attack each and every Ukrainian soldier at the front line, Ukrainian serviceman Sergei Beskrestnov told the Mi Ukraina (We are Ukraine) TV channel.

An FPV drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fitted with a camera that wirelessly transmits video feed to goggles, a headset, or a mobile device carried by a drone operator.

"We can say with a 99 percent probability that each Ukrainian soldier will die because it is impossible to survive FPV drone attacks in a clear field. Small arms will not help," Beskrestnov said.

He added that Ukrainian infantry will have to "be permanently stationed underground" on the battlefield to avoid the attacks.

According to Beskrestnov, "the Russians now already have enough drones" to successfully target both Ukrainian military equipment and servicemen in trenches and dugouts.

He spoke after the Financial Times admitted that the omnipresence of Russian drones on the battlefield proved to be is yet another reason why Ukraine’s much-hyped counteroffensive last year failed to produce any significant gains.

The newspaper highlighted that Moscow "maintains the upper hand" when it comes to its drone army, using the capabilities of the UAVs to their fullest.

This came after Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stressed in December that one of the Russian Armed Forces' main efforts in 2023 was to disrupt Ukraine’s counteroffensive. This task was accomplished, he said, singling out drones and electronic warfare systems as playing an indispensable role.