![]() Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have been seen using the drones, Greenwood says. Its consumer drones are considered to be some of the easiest to purchase and fly. Although there are questions about what kinds of footage will be admissible in trials, Greenwood and others are backing up and saving video from drones in Ukraine.Ĭhief among the commercial drones being used in Ukraine are those from Chinese firm DJI, particularly its Mavic line of devices. “This is one of the first cases we have had where drones have collected so much really applicable information for war crimes investigations against civilians,” Greenwood says. There certainly have been tactical advances and tactical victories because of that.”īeyond providing direct surveillance that can contribute to intelligence, the videos being captured by consumer drones could contribute to accountability after the war ends. “You have individuals or small militia groups that all of a sudden have their own airborne surveillance capability-that’s something you wouldn’t have had 10 years ago. The drones allow troops on the ground to immediately surveil forces around them, retarget weapons, and take action that could stop enemy advances or save lives. “You get cheap airborne surveillance, or even strike capabilities, by using these,” says Ulrike Franke, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who has studied the use of drones in war. (Russia first began its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 with its annexation of Crimea.) ![]() “In 2014, drones became the center of attention of intelligence units, but their scale cannot be compared to what we see today,” he says. It is about counter-saboteurs' actions, and it is of course search-and-rescue operations.” Iakovenko estimates that Ukrainian forces are operating more than 6,000 drones for reconnaissance and says these can link up with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite systems to upload footage. “It is all about intelligence, collecting and transferring data about enemy troops' movements or positionings, correcting artillery fire. “Drones changed the way the war was supposed to be,” says Valerii Iakovenko, the founder of Ukrainian drone company DroneUA. In another, the drone hovers in the air and records a helicopter being shot down as it flies past. In one video, a drone spots Russian military vehicles leaving troops behind-they run after the transport and fall in the snow. Drone videos show Ukrainian troops shelling Russian positions, monitoring their movements in real time, and ambushing Russian troops. Russian troops have been caught on camera allegedly shooting at citizens holding their hands in the air. Commercial drones have helped journalists document the sheer scale of destruction in Kyiv and Mariupol, flying over burnt-out buildings that have been reduced to rubble. Drones have captured fighting in the destroyed Ukrainian city of Bucha, with lines of tanks moving around streets and troops moving alongside them. While both types of drones have been used in previous conflicts, the current scale of small, commercial drone use in Ukraine is unprecedented.ĭrone videos shared and posted to social media depict the brutality of the war and reveal what has happened during battles. In contrast, small commercial drones can be flown by people without any specific training and carried around in a suitcase-sized box. ![]() At one end of the scale are large military drones that can be used for aerial surveillance and to attack targets on the ground. Since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine at the end of February, drones of all shapes and sizes have been used by both sides in the conflict. The drone isn’t a sophisticated military system, but a small, commercial machine that anyone can buy. Hovering tens of meters above it and recording the assault is a Ukrainian drone. Tanks and military vehicles are parked on either side of the blasting artillery system, positioned among houses and near the town’s railway system. In the snowy streets of the north Ukrainian town of Trostyanets, the Russian missile system fires rockets every second. ![]()
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