From the front lines, an exhausted Ukrainian commander, evacuated due to injuries, sums up the new face of modern warfare: it is no longer the tank or the artillery, but the drone that dominates the fighting.
In the skies of Ukraine, kamikaze drones, reconnaissance drones, bomber drones, and other drone hunters fly en masse, marking the pulse of modern warfare. They are cheap, deadly, and have become one of the main weapons with which kyiv hopes to contain—and eventually reverse—Russian advances.
According to a dozen Ukrainian commanders, officials and arms manufacturers consulted, the drone is now the center of gravity of the conflict.
Both sides have saturated the front line—more than 1,000 km—with these devices, in what soldiers call the “kill zone”, a corridor of about 20 kilometers where any movement can be detected and destroyed in seconds.
Russian forces can no longer advance in armored columns as they did in 2022. In response, they have changed their tactics: they now attack in small groups—on foot, on motorcycles, or ATVs—seeking to expose Ukrainian positions and then launch drone attacks.
“The enemy sees you completely. It doesn’t matter where you go or what you drive,” sums up Oleksandr Dmitriev, creator of OCHI, a system that aggregates real-time images from more than 15,000 Ukrainian drones.
Technology and local innovation
The Ukrainian military industry has reacted swiftly. This year alone, Volodymyr Zelensky's government plans to manufacture 30,000 long-range drones capable of attacking targets on Russian territory, such as arms depots or energy facilities.
According to Vadym Sukharevskyi, former commander of the drone forces, each one costs between $50,000 and $300,000, ten times less than a missile of similar range.
“This is our asymmetric response,”Sukharevskyi said, adding that Ukraine began developing such drones “precisely because we lack missiles.”
For his part, presidential advisor on armaments, Oleksandr Kamyshin, warns that Ukraine cannot limit itself to defending. “You cannot win a major war by defending alone (...) Long-range drone strikes are one of the main cards Ukraine can play against Russia right now,” he said.
In addition to offensive drones, kyiv and Moscow also compete in innovation: both use fiber-optic UAVs, impossible to jam electronically, and even “interceptors”, drones designed to shoot down other enemy reconnaissance and attack drones.
War of attrition, drone war
The Ukrainian army's estimates are stark: in 2024, drones accounted for 69% of attacks on Russian troops and 75% of attacks on vehicles. Artillery, which until recently was the king of the battlefield, now accounts for less than 20% of offensive action.
Major “Atom”, the 35-year-old evacuee officer, says soldiers fear drones more than mortars or mines. And his doctor, Olga Kozum, confirms this: most of the injuries she treats come from unmanned aerial attacks.
Despite these technological advances, Russia continues to gain ground, albeit slowly, in eastern and northern Ukraine. While it appeared to be lagging behind in the field of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) in the early months of the war, Moscow has now caught up and is now producing millions of drones a year, according to military analysts.
Less dependence on the US, but not in everything
Amid political uncertainty in Washington, Ukraine is seeking to reduce its dependence on U.S. weapons.
According to Zelensky, 40% of the weapons currently used by Ukrainian forces are already domestically produced, with the goal of reaching 50% within six months. And Europe has taken a more active role: according to the Kiel Institute, European military aid already exceeds that of the United States—€72 billion compared to €65 billion in 2022.
However, the country remains dependent on the United States in two key areas: air defense systems, especially the Patriot, and satellite intelligence services. As of April, Ukraine had only seven operational Patriot systems, far short of the 25 Zelensky requested.
Precision attacks with drones and long-range missiles, European experts warn,would hardly be sustained without the support of data provided by US satellites.
“We can resist”
Despite fatigue, Russian pressure, and uncertainty about foreign aid, the Ukrainian government remains confident.
“We can hold out for months,”Kamyshin said, when asked what would happen if arms shipments from the United States were to cease. If this had happened “in 2023 or 2024 it would have been much worse: we would be talking about days or weeks.”
However, experts such as Polish military analyst Konrad Muzyka warn that a prolonged war could work against kyiv, due to Russia's shortage of personnel and superior resources.
“To cause the damage that one artillery shell does, you would need to launch dozens of drones,”he added. “Drones can fill gaps to a certain extent and give you some breathing room, but they’re not a substitute for artillery.”
In the Ukrainian sky, every drone that flies represents a chance: to survive, to resist, or to win.
