The Ghost in the Wires: Drone Warfare Transforming Ukraine’s Front Lines
The frozen earth of Ukraine has become a testing ground for a new kind of war. One fought not only with tanks and trenches, but also with eyes in the sky – drones. From small, nimble FPVs darting through shattered buildings to larger unmanned platforms patrolling the Black Sea, these aerial machines are reshaping the battlefield. The YouTube videos highlighted below offer a stark, unfiltered look at this grim reality, revealing the evolving role of drones in the conflict, their devastating impact, and the human cost of this technological arms race. They showcase how Ukrainian ingenuity adapts to this 21st-century warfare, highlighting everything from modified commercial drones dropping grenades to sophisticated naval drones attacking Russian warships. These clips also offer a sobering reminder of the brutal disregard for human life, as seen in the footage of abandoned North Korean soldiers, highlighting the complex ethical dimensions of drone warfare.
Key Takeaways: Death From Above, Innovation Below
expendable infantry: North Korean troops, poorly trained and ill-equipped for modern warfare, are being used as cannon fodder by Russian commanders. Their outdated tactics and lack of medical support lead to devastating losses in the face of Ukrainian drone strikes and artillery fire.
Naval Drone Revolution: Ukraine’s naval drone program has evolved rapidly, demonstrating innovative designs and tactics against the Russian Black Sea Fleet. These drones are increasingly armed with rockets and even engaging in direct combat with helicopters. This marks a significant shift in naval warfare.
Civilian Targets and Escalation: Drone strikes are impacting civilian infrastructure, including oil refineries deep within Russian territory. This signals a potential escalation of the conflict, with far-reaching consequences.
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Adaptation and Counter-Adaptation: The videos document the constant cycle of adaptation and counter-adaptation in drone warfare. As drones become more sophisticated, countermeasures are developed, leading to a technological arms race. We see examples of this in the use of civilian vehicles by Russian forces and the Ukrainian development of armed naval drones.
The Human Cost:Beyond the technological advancements, the videos capture the human tragedy of war, showcasing the grim reality faced by soldiers on the ground and the ethical dilemmas posed by drone warfare.
Whispers of the Future: Where Drones and Destiny Collide
The growing reliance on drones in Ukraine suggests a significant shift in modern warfare. We’re witnessing not just the evolution of drone technology, but also the development of entirely new doctrines and tactics. As Ukraine continues to innovate and adapt its drone program, we can anticipate a ripple effect across global militaries, prompting a renewed focus on unmanned systems and counter-drone technologies. The blurring lines between civilian and military applications of drones also raise critical ethical questions about the future of warfare and its potential impact on civilian populations.
Dive Deeper: Witness the Drone War Unfold
Scroll down to explore curated highlights from these YouTube videos, offering a raw and powerful glimpse into the evolving role of drones in the Ukraine conflict. These aren’t just pixels on a screen; they represent the unfolding reality of a war transformed by technology. Click, watch, and understand the grim reality of drone warfare in Ukraine.
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18 Dec: INSANE North Korean Tactic Quickly ENDS IN DISASTER. | War in Ukraine ExplainedReporting from Ukraine1,845,122 views | 40,816 | December 18 2024 19:00:09 (2,606 comments)[ Read more … ]
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Today, there is a lot of news from the Kursk direction.
Here, North Korean forces faced their first major combat test in decades, launching a large-scale assault near Kruglyenke under ruthless Russian command. What followed was a brutal Ukrainian demonstration of modern warfare’s unforgiving nature, leaving devastating consequences for the attackers and raising serious questions about their preparedness and tactics.
Last time, we discussed how North Korean soldiers launched a large-scale assault near Kruglyenke with blatant disregard for tactical disadvantages. This approach led to controversial outcomes and devastating losses inflicted by Ukrainian drones and artillery.
As it turned out, the result was far more catastrophic than imagined, with recently released footage revealing the grim aftermath of the failed assault. One video shows more than two dozen dead North Korean soldiers lined in the open field for transport, painting a harrowing picture of the chaos and devastation caused by modern precision warfare. North Korean troops, caught in relentless artillery barrages and targeted drone strikes, were left in disorganized heaps as they attempted to regroup at the forest’s edge.
Many of the fallen lay alongside their wounded comrades, who were given no first aid or evacuation attempts, with the lack of treatment being particularly unsettling. Footage shows that injured soldiers, often under shock, were abandoned where they fell, treated by their comrades as casualties beyond saving. Some were seen piled into crude clusters, indistinguishable from the dead, as commanders prioritized advancing their forces over providing first aid. This brutal disregard for the wounded reflects the North Koreans’ outdated tactics, like that of the Russians, where high human cost is a calculated sacrifice.
Reports from Ukrainian soldiers on the ground confirm that the North Koreans do not provide first aid to their wounded. They described a shocking scene where an FPV drone struck a group of three soldiers, with two falling and not getting up. Despite showing signs of life, the third looked at them, stood still, and waited for others to arrive before continuing to move forward, with total disregard for the wounded. Other reports described how shells exploded just 20 meters away from groups of soldiers, with them continuing to move at the same pace, without reaction.
The disastrous outcome of the North Korean assault near Kruglyenke can be attributed to a combination of several key reasons. Firstly, due to time constraints and a lack of resources, North Korean troops received only rudimentary training in modern warfare. The units tasked with their instruction, the Russian VDV and marine brigades, were themselves degraded from months of heavy losses after countless unsuccessful assaults, with many experienced instructors either dead or otherwise incapacitated. This resulted in unprepared North Korean soldiers being sent into a conflict far beyond their tactical comprehension.
Secondly, further compounding the disaster, was the deliberate use of North Koreans as expendable cannon fodder by the Russian commanders. They were forced into slow, infantry-only assaults across open fields, without significant artillery or armored support. Instructed to move in lines through dense minefields, they became easy targets for Ukrainian drone surveillance and artillery fire. The bitter winter conditions only worsened their suffering, with icy terrain hindering movement and making their positions even more conspicuous. Without proper equipment and lacking basic operational understanding, they struggled to navigate the snow and ice while under relentless attack, as seen in more published videos, reminding of the historical footage of Soviet assaults during World War Two. One Ukrainian drone operator reported that in one instance, a North Korean group became exhausted from walking across the field under fire and sat down to rest, obviously not yet realizing what there is to fear in this unforgiving war.
Overall, the aftermath of the assault marked a catastrophic first loss for the North Koreans, who may have helped to establish a foothold but exposed their inability to adapt to contemporary warfare. This operation, meant to bolster Russian efforts in the region, instead served as a stark reminder of the human cost of such outdated tactics, where commanders prioritize attritional gains over their soldiers’ survival. Combining this with insufficient training, an unforgiving environment, and veteran Ukrainian defenders, ensured their failure and devastating losses.
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The Ukrainian Naval War (2024) – Armed drones, exports & the battle for the Black SeaPerun210,873 views | 12,109 | December 22 2024 13:20:53 (820 comments)[ Read more … ]
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Russia began its Feb 2022 invasion with a massive force advantage over Ukraine in the Black Sea – but over time we’ve seen the Russian fleet steadily pushed back by a Ukrainian strategy of sea denial driven by anti-ship missiles, reconnaissance drones and, critically, USVs (AKA naval drones)
Those drones have evolved rapidly, to the point where now we’ve seen them launching rockets or fighting back against helicopters.
So in this episode, I look at the Black Sea campaign since our 2023 update, and examine the evolution of Ukrainian USVs and the Russian response.
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU
Reading and Sourcing:
CSIS on Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian Grain Infrastructure
https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-renewed-attacks-ukraines-grain-infrastructure-why-now-what-next
Reporting on Vice Admiral Wikoff’s comments
https://www.voanews.com/a/houthis-undeterred-despite-us-action-to-protect-red-sea-shipping/7734735.html
Reporting on the collapse of the Grain Initiative
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/20/what-was-the-black-sea-grain-deal-and-why-did-it-collapse
USMC tests HIMARS from the deck of the USS Anchorage
https://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/1351282/anchorage-conducts-high-mobility-artillery-rocket-system-shoot-during-db17
TASS (2021) on the Admiral Nakhimov
https://tass.com/defense/1281679
Neptune production
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/11/19/ukraine-scales-up-production-of-advanced-neptune-missiles/
Caveats & Comments:
See the pinned comment for corrections.
All normal caveats and comments apply. Including, as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon.
Any content relating to the conduct and/or activities of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or in relation to that person or character.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:01:15 — What Am I Talking About?
00:03:28 — Background
00:06:39 — Battle For The Black Sea
00:14:58 — Russia Changes Tactics
00:24:53 — Drone Evolution
00:35:22 — Counter-adaptation (drones with guns)
00:43:48 — Future Trends
00:50:50 — Wider Implications
01:01:46 — Channel Update
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THAT WAS A BOOM: UKRAINE DESTROYS HUGE WAREHOUSE FILLED WITH SHAHED DRONES || 2024Warthog Defense70,595 views | 7,300 | December 23 2024 23:00:10 (397 comments)[ Read more … ]
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Ukrainian FPV drone brutally wipe out Russian soldier who attacked using a pickup truck in PokrovskTech Update91,263 views | 917 | December 23 2024 10:00:32 (32 comments)[ Read more … ]
Ukrainian FPV drone brutally wipe out Russian soldier who attacked using a pickup truck in Pokrovsk.
The Russian military has long relied on unarmored vehicles, motorbikes, all-terrain vehicles, vans, and trucks to carry infantry into battle. But the pickup truck and sedan assault outside the fortress city of Pokrovsk this week may have marked an inflection point. It was possibly one of the first significant Russian attacks where all the vehicles were civilian models. It’s an ominous development for Russia.
#ukraine #russia #ukrainerussiawar #techupdate
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LARGEST OIL REFINERY IN SOUTHERN RUSSIA IS SHUT DOWN AFTER UKRAINIAN DRONE STRIKE || 2024Warthog Defense61,280 views | 5,060 | December 24 2024 07:00:33 (159 comments)[ Read more … ]
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MASSIVE UKRAINIAN DRONE STRIKE BURNED OIL DEPOT IN RUSSIA’S ORYOL OBLAST || 2024Warthog Defense45,342 views | 5,097 | December 22 2024 23:00:39 (123 comments)[ Read more … ]
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About the Author
Patryk Alexander is an associate copy editor at 4kVideoDrones.com, where he sharpens articles and helps keep the website's content clean and error-free. With a background in creative writing, Patryk brings a unique perspective to his editing that helps make 4kVideoDrones.com's content engaging and informative. When he's not editing or writing, Patryk enjoys spending time with his family and exploring the great outdoors.
