The simple farmhouse north of Kharkiv—Ukraine’s second-largest city, just 20 miles from the Russian border—serves as the base of operations for an infantry company of the Ukrainian 13th National Guard Brigade, known as Khartia. One room is filled with bunk beds, and the walls are hung with helmets and body armor. In the yard, sacks of food and crates of ammunition sit under a laundry line dangling fatigues and T-shirts. But this is more than just a soldier’s billet. The main activity here is planning—a new kind of detailed forethought required by drone warfare.
Both Russian and Ukrainian use of drones has changed dramatically since the war began nearly three and a half years ago. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) now come in all shapes and sizes. Both sides use widely diversified drone arsenals for scouting and striking enemy forces. Long-range drones terrorize Ukrainian cities and destroy oil depots deep inside Russia. Others with shorter ranges buzz overhead, night and day, on the front line.
These smaller drones, ever-present eyes and weapons in the sky have transformed the battlefield, creating a six-to-12-mile “gray zone” between Russian and Ukrainian lines. It’s a deadly no man’s land where no one dares risk exposure. Even tanks and armored vehicles hesitate to cross the desolate territory for fear of drones. Instead, small groups of attacking Russians dash in on motorbikes, drawing fire to expose Ukrainian positions. And virtually everything the foot soldiers of Ukraine’s infantry once knew about fighting—assault and defense—has changed.
