Zaluzhnyi warns: mass UAV warfare has made traditional battle impossible

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In 2023, then-Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces General Valerii Zaluzhnyi wrote a sobering analysis for The Economist about the deadly stalemate gripping the Russo-Ukrainian war. Trenches, minefields, and killing zones had returned the frontline looked disturbingly like World War I.

Almost two years later, Zaluzhnyi has returned to this theme with an even harsher verdict: everything changed the moment drones arrived en masse.

Drones shatter centuries of strategy

For centuries, military strategists operated on a fundamental assumption: defenders held the advantage. Well-fortified positions could withstand attacks from much larger forces, creating natural chokepoints and safe zones. That principle has now shattered completely.

“The battlefield has become completely transparent and deprived of any possibility for maneuver,”

Zaluzhnyi writes, describing a reality that transforms every troop movement into a potential death sentence.

Any concentration of soldiers or equipment becomes a target within minutes of detection. What began as “eyes in the sky” simple reconnaissance UAVs watching troop movements quickly evolved into something far deadlier: cheap, mass-produced FPV drones small enough to evade most countermeasures but powerful enough to carry explosives.

The mathematics are brutal. A $500 drone can destroy a $2 million tank. A swarm of 20 drones can eliminate an entire infantry squad.

Russia’s brutal adaptation

Russian forces have adapted to this new reality with tactics that are brutal from a human perspective but devastatingly effective militarily. They hurl small assault groups at Ukrainian positions in coordinated waves, exploiting the gaps created by Ukraine’s defenses.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has been forced into desperate survival tactics. Traditional defensive lines have given way to small, isolated groups scattered across vast areas. Each unit must survive independently, constantly hunted by Russian assault teams and drone swarms.

The safe “rear” no longer exists. Everything within 40 kilometers of the frontline lives under constant threat of drone and artillery strikes. Command posts, supply lines, and medical stations – all have become legitimate targets visible to circling drones.

Four areas Ukraine must win

Zaluzhnyi identifies four critical areas where Ukraine must achieve technological superiority or face catastrophic defeat:

Counter-drone systems: Mobile electronic warfare units and small-scale air defense networks capable of downing swarms of attacking drones. Ukraine needs thousands of these systems, not dozens.

Mass drone production: Creating enough FPV drones and loitering munitions to match Russia’s industrial scale. Current volunteer-driven production, while innovative, cannot compete with state-level manufacturing.

“Smart” battlefield networks: Integrated systems connecting sensors, software, and robotics into command networks that react faster than human decision-making allows.

Leveraging tech talent: Ukraine’s IT expertise and engineering creativity must be channeled directly into defense innovation at an unprecedented scale.

Zaluzhnyi’s ideas have also been analysed by Yurii Kasyanov, founder of Matrix-UAV and a drone warfare expert. He responds to the general’s ideas with stark urgency and points out:

“If we don’t eliminate the technological gap and find effective weapons against drones, our infantry will simply die in their positions.”

Kasyanov highlights a critical structural problem. Most Ukrainian drone innovation relies on volunteers and small private companies brilliant and dedicated, but lacking the funding and industrial capacity for mass production. Russia, despite international sanctions, mobilizes vast state resources to produce thousands of drones monthly.