Can you imagine spending nearly a year in a trench fighting a war that is incredibly dangerous? That is what many Ukrainians and Russians are doing in this staggeringly bloody conflict that has no end in sight.
Gone are the days when one side can create an armored spearhead with a large cavalry unit of tanks and armored personnel carriers accompanied by dismounted infantry. These formations can be discovered quickly by reconnaissance drones and overhead satellite imagery. Then the defending troops respond with anti-tank missiles and guided missiles from multiple launch rocket systems and shells from conventional artillery – not to mention the ubiquitous first-person view loitering munitions that turn tanks into smoking ruins.
The No-Go Zone Is Awfully Dangerous
Australia is sending 49 of its retired M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a move that bolsters Kyiv’s armored firepower but raises significant questions about survivability on the modern battlefield. While the donation is a welcome gesture, US officials have reportedly expressed private frustration, warning that Ukraine struggles to sustain the complex tanks and highlighting their vulnerability to cheap, top-attack FPV drones. The war in Ukraine has become a “drone war,” where even advanced main battle tanks are at constant risk. The effectiveness of these donated Abrams will ultimately depend on Ukraine’s ability to counter this pervasive threat.
What is left is a World War One type of no-man’s land between dug-in Ukrainian and Russian forces. There is a grey zone that is incredibly dangerous, with a multitude of land mines and pre-registered artillery targets.
The Russians have resorted to probing enemy lines with a handful of soldiers on motorbikes, bicycles, and sometimes even horses, which adds a surreal aspect to the battlefield. These efforts do not usually work, yet Vladimir Putin’s generals seem satisfied to send these troops to die with little protection.
It is just as dangerous for Ukrainian forces. The defenders must also patrol the grey zone to get early warning of Russian attacks. So individual soldiers creep out at night in anti-drone clothing that blocks thermal imaging by Russian instruments. The cloaks often only work for less than 30 minutes, and then the enemy kamikaze craft can dart down and eliminate even the most adroit and agile soldier.
It Takes a Courageous Soldier to Survive These Conditions
This is horrific and requires immense bravery to serve on the front lines. Imagine hearing the whirring sound of one-way drones overhead. You know that they are targeting you, and death could come in seconds.
The constant danger of Russian kamikaze craft makes it difficult for the Ukrainians to reinforce the front lines. High command would like to replace soldiers, but even their immediate superiors do not know where their subordinates are located. It is every man for himself or herself. This means that some Ukrainian fighters have spent nearly 300 days at the front without much rest or food to replenish their empty stomachs.
Death From Above and Below in the Ukraine War
It makes for many difficulties. Soldiers look up at the sky to search for enemy drones, and while doing so, they cannot watch their step for landmines. This usually means hunkering down in the same spot for days. However, soldiers must do their jobs and try to seize enemy territory at night, when loitering munitions find it more difficult to strike targets.
Abdujalil Abdurasulov, writing for the BBC, interviewed a soldier who had barely survived after 225 days at the front. He is so tired that he can barely move. The constant stress has decimated his mental health, and the physical pain and hunger have taken a toll.
One Soldier Has Suffered Greatly But Is Still Alive
The soldier interviewed is code-named Kenya, and he has been fighting in the bloody area of Kostyantynivka that Russia has almost taken. Kenya had been serving as a forward-deployed scout, but he became separated from his unit during reconnaissance missions. Kenya once walked nearly seven miles to rejoin his brigade. This was a laudable display of courage amid constant mental tension and physical exertion.
Kenya is fighting with the Ukrainian 93rd Mechanized Brigade, a desperate band of combatants who are not near full strength. Their job is to protect Ukrainian strongholds in the Donbas region – Kramatorsk and Sloviansk – so the Russians cannot take complete control of the strategic territory.
Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry of the Wisconsin National Guard launch a Tube-launched Optically-tracked Wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank missile July 25, 2024, during training at a range at Fort McCoy, Wis. It’s not the first time TOW missile training has been conducted on the installation by troops. In July 2022, Soldiers with the 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry Regiment also conducted similar training at Fort McCoy. The TOW missile is a wire-guided missile that is launched from a tube. The missile has a conventional layout with the warhead at the front, cruciform wings in the middle, four control vanes, and a single-stage solid propellant rocket motor at the rear.
No Rest for the Ukrainians
Kenya knows this could be a dangerous mission, and he needs some rest and relaxation to recharge his batteries. That’s not possible if Ukraine is to hold on and successfully defend the Donbas. This fight is a race to create battlefield advantage before a potential ceasefire. Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky know that any peace agreement will freeze lines where they are, and each side wants to hold as much territory as possible.
Kenya and his comrades face a difficult proposition. It takes armor and troops to hold territory. That means that humans must maneuver under a cover of fire from artillery and armored vehicles. But the mines and drones make moving into position difficult, if not impossible.
Ukraine Has Barely Enough Troops
Russia has been willing to lose around 30,000 troops a month, killed or wounded. Ukraine does not have that many personnel to gamble with. That means the people fighting in the Donbas must extend the war with what they have at hand.
Ukraine has thus decided that defense is the strongest form of warfare, and friendly troops must be anchored to their positions in trenches and dugouts and hope they are not discovered by drones. Night can be the scariest part of the job.
“Every time we had to come out of our positions, we prayed we would come back alive,” said Kenya. “At night, we had to put on anti-drone cloaks to protect us against thermal cameras, but they would last for 20 minutes at the most.”
New Weapons Are Great, But Are Difficult to Ship to the Frontlines
Ukraine is doing a great job at battlefield innovations, with scores of new weapons coming online every month. The problem is getting those new arms systems to the front lines. Soldiers need time to become familiar with a modernized weapon, and there is often no time or opportunity to test the new hardware.
The frontlines are horrific, and as long as there is no ceasefire, soldiers like Kenya will struggle to fight a war that is looking unwinnable. It doesn’t appear that Ukraine has enough forward momentum to regain lost territory.
But the Russians are struggling too, and it looks like if there is ever peace, these frontline soldiers will man a Korea-like DMZ that will hopefully bring a stop to the constant threats of man-killing drones, land mines, and artillery.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood, PhD
Author of now over 3,500 articles on defense issues, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: A Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
