Drones have become the defining feature of the war in Ukraine. While Ukrainians have emerged as global leaders in drone manufacturing and deployment, the country still desperately needs advanced air defense systems to counter Russian missile strikes.

 

On the road from Kyiv to the front line, overhead netting covers the final 80 kilometers, designed to foil Russian fiber-optic drones. While jammers can counter signal-based UAVs, physical mesh has proven to be the cheapest defense against tethered optic drones. Although netting is now common around military installations worldwide, Ukraine may be the only country where it stretches over entire highways.

Turning off the highway into the city, the netting continues over the sidewalks, cut with large gaps so pedestrians can cross. Just a year ago, when the front line was kilometers away, the city was mostly intact and functioning. Now that fighting has crept within a few hundred meters, many homes have been destroyed and most residents have fled.

Those who remain endure relentless barrages of ordnance falling at random, spending more and more time taking shelter in cellars. Piles of sandbags ring the few remaining shops and restaurants. Their windows are boarded up, though doors stay open for business.

The explosions echo all day, but nighttime is worse. After dark, the Russians take advantage of the fact that Ukrainian soldiers struggle to spot incoming drones. The UAVs, equipped with infrared sensors, can lock onto targets as easily in pitch black as in broad daylight. For civilians, the unrelenting night barrages make sleep difficult and broken.

Exhaustion compounds the constant strain of danger and the heartache of losing loved ones, slowly grinding down the human spirit. Military personnel I spoke with noted that this is part of the Russian strategy: wear down the civilian population until the area empties out, then gradually creep forward, block by block, to occupy it.

While driving, relying on a drone detector is essential. With luck, it will give you just enough warning to pull off the road, leap from the vehicle, and dive for cover. Crossing the final stretch between the relative safety of civilian homes and the front lines, the drones become increasingly persistent, like swarms of deadly hornets hunting for a victim. But unlike insects, these flying predators carry lethal payloads: modified 40mm grenades to shred infantry, heavy RPG warheads, thermobaric charges, and even anti-tank mines capable of obliterating an armored vehicle in an instant.

After stashing our vehicles, we made our way through the cover of trees to a camouflaged hole in the ground, which opened into a tunnel that led to an underground drone unit operations center. Inside, two large computer screens tracked Russian and Ukrainian drones—one monitoring Russian troop movements, the other providing early warnings.

Photo by Antonio Graceffo.

On the screen, Russian soldiers were clearly visible in a tree line. Although we could only spot a few of them, their movement made it obvious they weren’t a small recon team, but part of a larger assault element nearby. Watching the war unfold from this vantage point was chilling—a reminder that the Russians were watching similar feeds of the Ukrainians, and of us.

Both feeds showed chaotic drone traffic, with countless UAVs crisscrossing the skies. Explosions could be heard, some large, some small, some far, some near. Experienced soldiers, the ones who survived the longest, could tell by sound alone whether a drone was friendly or hostile, and precisely how far away it was. But for my team and me, whose combat experience was largely limited to Burma and the Middle East, these sounds were unfamiliar and indistinguishable. Taking cover was always our safest bet.

The drone unit leader told us, “The reconnaissance drones are trying to find the Russian cannons that are shooting at us. Because of their work, our artillery and drone units destroyed many cannons that were attacking this area.”

The commander explained that he had been in the army since the first Russian invasion in 2014. Describing his team, he said, “They are young guys, but they are very intelligent.” He mentioned that overnight, the Russians had blown up sixteen cars parked in front of homes. Because most of the attacks occur during the night, some members of the team stay awake overnight monitoring screens.

The soldiers showed off some of their Ukrainian drones, constructed using a combination of 3D printing and duct tape. Ukrainian forces have gained international recognition for their rapid innovation in low-cost drone production. Frontline workshops and decentralized networks rely heavily on 3D printing to manufacture custom components—such as tail fins, bomb release mechanisms, battery mounts, and casing adapters—at scale.

Additionally, field teams frequently utilize improvised materials like duct tape, electrical tape, zip ties, and PVC piping to construct light airframes, secure payloads, and execute rapid repairs directly in combat zones.

This decentralized, low-overhead approach allows Ukrainian units to rapidly adapt equipment to changing electronic warfare environments and target requirements. However, while these low-cost systems are deployed extensively, Ukraine’s defense sector also manufactures advanced military-grade UAVs, including long-range strike platforms and specialized reconnaissance systems built with composite materials and hardened electronics.

As the commander summarized, “This war has become a war of technology. It is less about small arms fire. It is our technology against theirs.”

Drones are crucial to Ukraine’s military effort because they provide an asymmetric cost advantage, allowing low-cost platforms to destroy armored vehicles, artillery systems, and infantry positions. Drones compensate for artillery ammunition shortages by delivering precise kinetic strikes on targets. They offer real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), enabling commanders to monitor troop movements and coordinate fire support. Long-range strike drones also allow Ukraine to attack logistics hubs, energy infrastructure, and military facilities behind the front lines.

However, drones cannot secure victory on their own due to operational and physical limitations. Tactical drones carry small explosive payloads, such as modified grenades or RPG warheads, which lack the blast yield required to destroy heavy fortifications or clear minefields. Drones are vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, including rain, high winds, and low visibility, as well as electronic warfare jamming that interrupts control signals and GPS navigation.

Furthermore, drones cannot occupy or hold territory, which requires infantry, ground armor, and combined-arms operations. Finally, tactical UAVs cannot intercept incoming ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, or glide bombs, leaving heavy air defense systems necessary to protect infrastructure and military positions.

The soldiers needed to return to their screens as Russian activity picked up. Before leaving, we prayed with the team and asked what was on their hearts. The leader replied, “We pray for our country, that we will not lose our sovereignty, and we pray for our people.”

Antonio Graceffo reporting from Ukraine.

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