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A Russian soldier told in a video how he observed an attack by Ukrainian drones. He is part of the reserve forces, as the Russian daily Izvestia wrote. The video was distributed in translation on the X platform by the independent project “War Translated”, which researches the Ukrainian war.

“This Russian soldier apparently witnessed a ‘swarm’ of Ukrainian FPV drones led by a drone queen descending on Russian positions and starting bombing,” War Translated user Dmitri wrote in a caption to the video.

Ten drones were in use. Another drone, which he called the “Queen,” flew at a higher altitude. According to his descriptions, they moved the drones into position and signaled to attack.

Technically, this mother drone appears to be a reconnaissance and booster that relays signals to the smaller combat drones equipped with weaker receivers.

“When a large mother drone detects a target, the kamikazes take off, sometimes several meters from the target, and attack,” the unnamed soldier said. The problem with this Ukrainian tactic: if the “queen” is eliminated, her entire flock could be neutralized.

Drones are changing the war in Ukraine

Ukraine is increasingly using drones in the fight against Russian troops and their equipment. So-called FPV aircraft are usually based on commercial models that have been converted. FPV stands for “First Person View”, in German: view from the first person perspective. Explosive charges can be attached to them and they are then used as kamikaze drones. Due to their small size, they are barely visible on radar. They are also used in reconnaissance. Larger models can also fly long distances, while others are used as surface drones.

In December 2023, Mikhailo Fedorov, Kiev’s Minister of Digital Transformation, told US magazine Newsweek that FPV drones were now more useful to Kiev’s frontline fighters than artillery. The Russian side also attacks with drones, especially those of Iranian design. A swarm of Shahed drones is often sent ahead of missile strikes to overload Ukrainian air defenses.

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