Ukraine has the night on its side Ukrainians announce the liberation of places in the Donetsk region – the night update without photos

Russian sources complain about the tactical advantage that night vision goggles from the west give Ukrainian troops a tactical advantage. According to information from the “Institute for the Study of War”, a prominent military blogger from Russia states that Western equipment significantly helps Ukraine in night attacks – because the night vision of the enemy forces is “excellent”.

Russian occupation official in annexed Zaporizhia Oblast, Vladimir Rogov, recently made a similar statement: the night gear from the West makes night attacks by Ukraine more effective. For several days now, Russian circles have been saying that the Ukrainian army is increasingly attacking at night or intensifying its attacks. Recently, there have been reports of heavy fighting in southern Ukraine.

Massive imbalance during night combat

Kiev has received extensive military aid from Western allies, including US and UK night vision goggles. Germany supplied, among other things, reconnaissance drones with night vision cameras. Russian soldiers, on the other hand, hardly have access to such devices – most of the manufacturers and suppliers are based in Western countries participating in Kremlin sanctions.

The next EU sanctions package also envisages stopping the remaining Russian import routes for night vision equipment via third countries such as Saudi Arabia. Until now, so-called dual-use goods, which can be used for both civil and military purposes and thus include night vision technology, can be sold to non-EU countries.

To reduce their equipment backlog, Russian troops would increasingly try to hide their body heat by wearing cloaks with emergency blankets sewn into them. For example, a Ukrainian officer under the username Tatarigami_UA reported this on his Twitter channel at the end of April. According to this, the Russians hoped not to shine on the thermal imaging equipment of Ukrainian drones and snipers at night.

The rescue blankets, also called “space blankets” because of their gold-silver appearance, are commercially available under the name “Mylar”. The tear-resistant PET film with a special coating is especially appreciated for its ability to prevent heat loss: the material can retain up to 97 percent of body heat and thus also offers protection against thermal imagers at night.

This trick is nothing new: Most military vehicles are sold with camouflage covers made from Mylar, and a Ukrainian inventor even recently patented a corresponding camouflage cover. And the Afghan Taliban also knew how to use rescue blankets before seizing power to better hide from NATO forces.

But at least the makeshift covers won’t make you completely invisible. The recordings that Twitter user Tatarigami_UA shares on his channel show that straight heads, arms and feet remain clearly visible.

Civil night vision goggles as a risk

While the Ukrainian aid team is officially asking for additional thermal imaging and night vision goggles to be provided, numerous private donation initiatives are also raising funds to buy suitable devices for Ukraine.

However, according to manufacturers, whether night vision devices give their users an advantage in combat depends on whether the respective models have actually been developed for military purposes. If not, they can even be deadly to soldiers.

For example, the American company Nightfox warns on its website against buying civilian night vision goggles for use in Ukraine. It reads: “The use of digital night vision goggles in combat operations can be extremely dangerous.”

Because: Many civilian models work with infrared LEDs and can therefore be easily detected by hostile users of military night vision devices. Modern special models for the military, on the other hand, have technology that does not emit infrared light – but is usually many times more expensive. (t online)

sources: