Ukrainian troops have recently deployed fishing nets along supply routes in Donetsk to defend against Russian drones, which are heavily used in the region and target moving vehicles like armored personnel carriers and military supply trucks.
The nets, some donated by European fishers, others sewn in cities far from the front lines, can entangle drone propellers, preventing attacks on moving vehicles.
With Russia increasingly using fiber-optic drones resistant to jamming, these nets have become one of Ukraine's few remaining countermeasures.
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Ukrainian soldiers set up anti-drone netting along a supply route to the front lines in Donetsk on 12/6. Photo: Le Monde |
Ukrainian soldiers set up anti-drone netting along a supply route to the front lines in Donetsk on 12/6. Photo: Le Monde
"Military engineers realized that ordinary fishing nets can stop or damage enemy drones," Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Kravchuk, head of the Ukrainian engineering corps' communications department, said on 7/7. "The nets are being deployed along the entire front line from east to south."
The Russian military first used anti-drone nets along supply routes in 2023, hanging them like banners near the Bakhmut stronghold in Donetsk.
In February, Russian media reported that Russian engineers netted the road from Bakhmut to the Chasov Yar stronghold to protect supply lines. A Russian engineer said they were prioritizing the most vulnerable sections and planned to expand the netting, as well as improve deployment speed.
According to Western experts, Russia's recent advances in drone technology have forced Ukraine to adopt similar netting tactics in many areas.
However, netting along roads isn't a perfect solution.
Rubikon, a drone unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense, released a video on 1/7 showing a drone navigating a net tunnel in Sumy, pursuing and striking the rear of a Ukrainian MaxxPro armored vehicle. The extent of the damage is unclear.
A Russian drone navigates a net tunnel, pursues, and attacks a Ukrainian armored vehicle in Sumy in a video released on 1/7. Video: Zvezda, Rubikon
Howard Altman, editor of the US military website War Zone, believes netting is effective against first-person view (FPV) suicide drones, but less so against camera drones designed to drop explosives. Some drones could also be used to detonate and clear the nets, opening a path for other vehicles.
“Creating anti-drone corridors with nets restricts maneuverability, confining vehicles to narrow paths. This risks turning the protected road into a 'death funnel' for enemy artillery. However, given the number of suicide drones on the battlefield, an imperfect solution can still be beneficial," Altman commented.
Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, AP, Reuters, Yahoo News)
