Russian forces are developing multiple methods to counter Ukraine's mid-strike drone attacks, including camouflaging military cargoes and deploying powerful jamming systems to disrupt Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system, according to Ukrainian drone commanders and pilots who spoke to Reuters.
Mid-Strike Drones Transform Warfare
Ukraine's development of mid-strike drones, which can accurately and cheaply hit targets dozens of kilometers behind front lines and are often flown via Starlink, has transformed the war. This year, Ukraine has launched a concerted mid-strike campaign targeting supply lines, fuel storage facilities, air-defense installations, and command centers, disrupting Russian logistics and causing fuel shortages in occupied Crimea.
However, Russia is now developing many countermeasures, four drone commanders and pilots told a Reuters crew visiting Ukraine's 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Jamming Devices and Camouflage Tactics
Russia's methods range from hiding fuel and other military supplies in civilian vehicles to using sophisticated electronic jamming devices to block drone pilot connections. Jamming devices have been installed near towns and military facilities, including some capable of disrupting Starlink systems operated by Musk's SpaceX. Most of Ukraine's mid-strike missions use Starlink, which allows pilots to remotely communicate with drones and has been considered largely immune to jamming.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukraine's defense ministry, said Russia is deploying a jamming system called the Volna Kupol Garant, which emits a signal strong enough to destabilize Starlink connections over an area of about 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles). He added that about 10 such systems have been detected so far. However, the system is a prominent target for Ukrainian drone crews.
Strikes on Jamming Systems
The 422nd regiment has taken part in operations to hit two of these systems, including one struck several hours after detection in a joint mission with the SBU security service, said a commander using the callsign Kolesnyk. A video of one attack showed a large explosion as a drone struck a site containing six large boxes resembling trailers. "As soon as we struck that installation, our Starlink-equipped (drones) flew without problems," said crew commander 'Dyryhent'.
Musk has meanwhile cut Russian forces off from using Starlink to prevent Moscow from using it in its own drone strikes. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Russia's defense ministry. Reuters could not independently verify the tactics Russia is using to avoid strikes.
Civilian Vehicles for Military Supplies
During Reuters' visit to the 422nd regiment, Ukrainian soldiers loaded a warhead packed with high explosive into a winged drone. Launched by a catapult, the "Zozulya" ("Cuckoo") drone flew southeast toward Crimea under cover of darkness, targeting a base used by Russian drone pilots.
Kolesnyk and other drone commanders outlined some of Moscow's tactics. "We hit water tankers, and the tankers were burning because there was gasoline inside," Kolesnyk said. "We've hit painted-up milk trucks that had diesel fuel in them." Russian forces now run small convoys of fuel tankers protected by pickup trucks with mounted machine guns, take smaller roads to avoid surveillance, and use civilian vehicles to carry supplies.
Ukraine's military intelligence told Reuters Russian forces are using small civilian cars, quadbikes, and motorcycles to transport fuel, ammunition, and provisions to the front. They also use camouflaged dugouts, abandoned buildings, and agricultural structures to conceal supplies, and civilian petrol stations to store fuel for the military.
Impact and Challenges
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, said Ukraine's mid-strikes are perhaps the most important battlefield development this year, but Moscow is starting to have some success counteracting them. "If they scale production of the jammers, they could make it more difficult to conduct the middle-strike campaign," he said.
Despite its impact, the mid-strike campaign has not stopped deadly Russian strikes on Ukraine. Russia still holds about a fifth of Ukrainian territory four years after its full-scale invasion, and not all Ukrainian drone strikes succeed. When the 422nd regiment fired a RAM-2X drone at a fuel tanker during Reuters' visit, it missed, and the surveillance drone used to follow the truck was hit by a Tor surface-to-air missile system. "At least we know it's there now," said one crewman, logging the Tor into Ukraine's digital battlefield targeting system – leaving a target for another day.
