Russia-Ukraine war: about 80% of Russian casualties due to drone attacks

“It is almost impossible to move without hearing the FPV drones, or the ‘cry of the banshee’, as they sound,” an Australian volunteer known as “Chaplin”, who serves in the Third Corps of the Ukrainian Army, told the British newspaper The Telegraph.

Cheap commercial drones proved crucial early in the war, when a Ukrainian volunteer unit used them to drop 1.5 kg bombs and slow down a 65-kilometer-long Russian armored convoy making its way to Kiev in 2022.

According to data from the Rusi Research Institute and a report by Georgetown University, technological evolution has led to a massive arms race. While in the summer of 2023 Ukraine was losing about 10,000 drones a month, by 2024 it had already produced over two million tools. The average drone chassis has grown from 17 to 30 cm to carry larger batteries and heavier explosives, at a cost of less From £1,000 to a tool capable of destroying a tank worth millions.

Another dramatic development is fiber optic drones, which are controlled through a physical cable up to 40 km long, making them completely immune to frequency interference. While these tools fly at speeds of over 95 km/h, Western militaries are still having trouble digesting the new reality.

In a joint exercise last year, British and Estonian soldiers lost 17 armored vehicles in 12 hours to Ukrainian drone operators. “If there were only artillery and attempts to kill each other, I’d be fine with that,” concludes Chaplin, “but the drones just destroy everything.”