Ukrainian special operators are carrying out more infiltration missions into Russian-held territory as the drone-infested kill zone continues to grow, making larger maneuvers difficult. The expansion of the kill zone has the Ukrainians not only executing more infiltration-style missions but also tasking operators to confront the challenges posed by similar Russian activities.
Increased Infiltration Missions
For Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, the number of missions has increased over the past year, according to an operator in the 4th Ranger Regiment. The operator, who is the second-in-command of a small unit and requested to be identified only by his call sign “Gur” for security reasons, said he tends to receive specific, targeted missions. They might be tasked with destroying one particular enemy position.
Gur said they go in, destroy it, and come back out. That might take two days, four days, or a week. They don’t necessarily have to stay in the area for a fixed amount of time.
Managing the Increased Tempo
To manage the increased tempo, Ukrainian special operators will rotate teams for these missions, allowing soldiers to rest, train, and prepare. The front line is often described as a “kill zone,” an area heavily saturated with drones that can quickly attack troops and military vehicles, making any movement very dangerous.
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Drones are responsible for roughly 90% of all battlefield strikes. The kill zone varies in width across the battlefield, though it typically extends roughly 10 to 20 kilometers in either direction from the line of contact.
However, Ukrainian soldiers and officials have said it is expanding, forcing commanders to make tactical adjustments. Gur attributed the expanding kill zone to the further proliferation of first-person-view (FPV) drones — cheap quadcopters rigged with explosives to deliver precision strikes.
Adapting to the Expanding Kill Zone
Ukrainian infiltration missions have increased concurrently with similar Russian operations. They’re using Ukraine’s tactics as well, the operator said. Russian forces infiltrate in groups of two to four soldiers, and they can make their way into Ukraine’s rear areas. Then that becomes another task for Ukraine’s special operators. They have to go in and eliminate them.
Front-line Ukrainian units don’t always have the numbers to effectively cover all the territory they hold, Gur said. So when Russian forces infiltrate, his group may get assigned to handle the breach. The Russians are their task.
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The expanding kill zone has also pushed Ukrainian special operators to start using ground robots for logistics closer to the front lines and to evacuate casualties, both of which have become too dangerous for soldiers with the current drone presence.
“War creates its own conditions. FPV drones appeared, so we have to react to that,” Gur said. “We have to adapt somehow if we want to survive and keep operating.” The use of ground robots is just one example of how Ukrainian special operators are adapting to the expanding kill zone and the increasing use of drones by Russian forces.
It is a difficult situation.
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