How Ukraine's war effort against Russia has evolved

DW News · Feb 24, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Soldiers spend weeks or even months in a cramped shelter in a so-called "kill zone," a stretch as long as 20 kilometers (12 miles) that is largely controlled by enemy drones. There is no way to reach a position by vehicle or evacuate the wounded. Ammunition and food supplies are constantly interrupted. All of this has become everyday life along the front line during four years of Russia's full‑scale war against Ukraine. Ukrainian military personnel tell DW how the war has changed. 2022: Chaos, ground war and Western weapons When soldiers think back to the start of the invasion, they remember the many volunteers and long lines at recruitment offices. That seems unimaginable today. "I wasn't allowed to join the army until September 2022," said Oleksandr Kashaba, who was 22 at the time. "There was chaos at the front back then," recalled Stanislav Kotcherha, deputy commander of a drone battalion. In early 2022, he had completed training as an air defense soldier and soon after joined the infantry. "There were many units, but no communication." Later, the front line stabilized. "Then a real ground war began, with infantry, tanks, artillery and air forces as the main elements. A typical war, like you read about in books," Kotcherha said.Hijmars rocket launchers were considered a 'game changer'Image: Armed Forces of Ukraine/Cover Images/IMAGO In the same year, foreign rocket launchers, including HIMARS, became a decisive "game changer," said Vladyslav Urubkov of the Come Back Alive foundation, which equips the Ukrainian Army with everything from vehicles to grenade launchers and organizes educational projects. "The HIMARS had a big influence on the success of the counteroffensive in Kharkiv," said Urubkov, who has since left the army. 2023: Drones and the counteroffensive The next year, the Ukrainian military began using the Chinese quadcopter Mavic drone extensively, initially for aerial reconnaissance and soon as an attack drone dropping explosives. Later, kamikaze drones, deployed heavily by both sides since the summer of 2023, were also used. "I was lucky to serve in the infantry before drones dominated," said Kashaba, who first commanded an anti-aircraft platoon before later taking command of a machine gun platoon.Protecting Ukraine's capital against Russia's drone attacksTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Because of this shift, almost everything he did then is no longer possible on today's battlefield. During the counteroffensive, Kashaba worked just under 1.5 kilometers from Russian positions with a large‑caliber US machine gun. He also traveled long distances across open terrain and handled logistics in an armored vehicle. He transported ammunition and supplies, rotated personnel and evacuated people. At that time, the wounded were transported about 4 kilometers in an armored vehicle to where an evacuation team was waiting. From there, that team took them in unarmored vehicles to a stabilization point behind the lines. Because the kill zone is now much larger, this is no longer possible today. "Back then, the wounded reached us a few hours after being hit. Now it takes days," explained a paramedic known by the call sign "Kazhan," who is part of an evacuation team.2024: Transformation of the front line In February 2024, the Russian army began advancing rapidly in the Donetsk region. At that exact moment, the shortage of soldiers at the front became noticeable, recalled Kashaba, who was transferred to headquarters at the time due to injuries. Meanwhile, drone development continued. The Ukrainian military was the first to use hexacopters. These were used to engage targets and deploy mines over greater distances, as well as for logistical purposes. At the same time, electronic warfare tools were developed.Drones have become a crucial element of Ukraine's defenses and Russia's attacksImage: Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/REUTERS According to Urubkov from the Come Back Alive foundation, kamikaze drones fundamentally changed the war. "The biggest leap occurred in late 2023 and early 2024, when deliveries of Western artillery shells were delayed," he said. In the battles for Avdiivka at that time, the Ukrainians used FPV drones against the Russians, who had artillery superiority. For Kotcherha, the deputy drone battalion commander, the rise of FPV drones is less about a "lack of ammunition" than the efficiency and relatively low cost of kamikaze drones. Both sides deployed attack drones more widely simultaneously. "Units on the front had to adapt, dig positions, camouflage them and protect them from drones. Equipment had to be moved off the front line. At the start of the war, a tank might be three kilometers from the front line; since 2024, it has to be 10-15 kilometers away. The range of inexpensive and precise munitions has increased," he explained. As a result, infantrymen must hide underground and are less able to monitor the front line. Consequently, "the enemy infiltrated in small groups," Kotcherha said. 2025: Kursk operation and ground robots Summer 2024 was marked by the start of the Kursk offensive. The Ukrainian military quickly advanced into Russian territory but could not hold its positions. By spring 2025, the operation was over. One reason for the success of the Russian counteroffensive at the time was fiber‑optic drones, which are resistant to electronic disruption. Fiber-optic drones new twist to Russia's war in UkraineTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "At some point, the Russians began attacking every vehicle heading toward Kursk with these drones," said "Kazhan," the paramedic. "We drove at night, and it was very frightening because you know you have no way to counter those drones." At the same time, "Kazhan" observed that the number of wounded dropped. "In 2024, in the Avdiivka area, there were days when up to 200 wounded came to us. Then it decreased significantly. The main problem is the kill zone, which in some places is 20 to 25 kilometers wide. It widened due to the use of technology. People can now be killed with more precision. That makes it harder to evacuate the severely injured," she says. Military doctors now advise the wounded by video link directly at their positions and send them medicine by drones. This way, soldiers with amputations and bleeding can survive even when evacuation isn't possible for weeks. Ground robots are now also used to evacuate the wounded. They are also used to deliver supplies to positions and are equipped with machine guns.How Ukraine uses drones to get supplies to the front linesTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video One development the military observed in 2025 was attempts to "take each other's eyes out" — shooting down reconnaissance drones. In response, Ukraine is actively working on interceptor drones. At first, volunteers handled this, but now Ukraine has an entire infrastructure, Urubkov said. "This is a reaction to the massively expanded production of reconnaissance drones by the Russians." 2026: An uncertain outlook From Urubkov's perspective, the most significant event at the start of 2026 is cutting Russian troops off from the Starlink terminals they used to coordinate units and control drones. "Our advantage was using Starlink," he says, noting that over time, the Russians also found a way to use the satellite network. "What we can do at the front thanks to Starlink, hopefully the Russians won't be able to anymore," Urubkov says.How reliable is Starlink as a wartime communications line?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video He also hopes technological development continues: "Under these conditions, people at the front become ever more vulnerable. We are in a strategically defensive position. With few exceptions, this war is a strategic offensive by the enemy, taking the initiative. Our work is mainly in defense. I would like to change that." Kashaba, the machine gun platoon commander, doesn't believe that technological development can influence the course of the war. "I think all significant technological changes have already happened and that the course of the war now depends on who will first run out of soldiers who can fight under conditions of total drone dominance," he said. This article was originally published in Ukrainian.