Le Monde - retour à la une How the Russian and Ukrainian front lines are shifting

LeMonde

18 hours ago

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the front lines of the war have never stopped shifting. These transformations have first and foremost been geographical, with advances, retreats and the stabilization of specific areas. They have also been morphological and technological.
The front has hardened significantly: individual positions have gradually become entrenched, resulting in a complex network of trenches, bunkers, anti-tank ditches and minefields.
However, this kind of positional warfare is not a return to the past: It is even undergoing a technological revolution. Drones – whether used for reconnaissance, bombing or as kamikaze units – have become omnipresent, transforming the tactics, tempo and organization of the battlefield.
World War in Ukraine
By Victoria Denys, Emmanuel Grynszpan, Flavie Holzinger, Xemartin Laborde, Riccardo Pravettoni and Victor Simonnet
This illustration is not intended to faithfully recreate the full complexity of the Ukrainian front line, which varies between locations and is constantly changing. Instead, it provides a general overview, helping readers to understand the diversity of equipment, situations and operating methods used on the front.
THE RUSSIAN SIDE
The reign of drones and the 'kill zone'
The presence of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield has continued to intensify and become more complex. Drones are the key weapon in this war, and they have redefined how forces defend, attack, monitor and target their enemies. On both sides of the front, 90% of casualties have been caused by drone strikes. New types of drones have appeared, with specialized uses: hunting other drones, carrying out ultra-precise strikes against enemy artillery (artillery being the most difficult piece of equipment for the Russian defense industry to produce), etc. The two main uses of attack drones are to rush directly at their target (i.e. FPV drones) or to bomb them using onboard munitions. Artificial intelligence already enables them to conduct autonomous "swarm" attacks and helps identify targets. The range of attack drones has continually increased, and now reaches several dozen kilometers. "Mother drones," which carry multiple smaller drones, have begun to appear, and they can double or triple their operational range. This has expanded the "kill zone," the stretch of territory in which any movement is immediately spotted and struck, on both sides of the front, making assaults, defense and logistics increasingly difficult for dozens of kilometers. Leaving or reaching a position, resupplying, or even evacuating the wounded has become extremely dangerous. Military experts have predicted that the "kill zone" will continue to expand, eventually reaching 100 kilometers in width.
The 'kill zone'
New arsenal: Widespread robotization
Ukrainian forces, on the defensive, have been subjected to barrages of FPV drones. Russia's widespread use of fiber optic cable drones has rendered radio jamming devices ineffective, as they are designed to neutralize radio-controlled drones. To protect themselves from these cable-equipped drones, which transmit high quality images, they have had to set up netting, and, as a last resort, use shotguns to shoot down the loitering munitions. As a result, fortifications, artillery and trenches have been systematically covered with camouflage netting. To reduce losses incurred during troop movements, Ukrainian forces have very rapidly developed ground drones to address their logistical challenges. These drones can resupply positions and evacuate the wounded. They can also be used offensively, to lay mines or even to carry out kamikaze strikes against enemy positions.
THE UKRAINIAN SIDE
A Russian countermeasure: using off-road motorcycles to attack through the 'kill zone'
Nicknamed the 21st century "dragoons," in reference to historical military units that traveled on horseback but fought on foot, Russian infantry have, since the autumn of 2024, refined a new assault tactic: rapidly advancing on Ukrainian positions using off-road motorcycles. This has come as a countermeasure to the widespread use of drones by Ukrainian defenders.
Over the past two years, drones have destroyed much of Russia's fleet of armored vehicles, which were previously their army's preferred means of transporting infantry for assaults. Drones have made approaching defensive positions extremely dangerous: No matter if the maneuver is mechanized or not, and regardless of how thick a vehicle's armor is, they threaten any kind of movement across the battlefield. Russian forces have found that the speed and maneuverability of off-road motorcycles make them harder to hit than slow, large targets, such as armored vehicles. They also give Ukrainian defenders less time to react to assaults once they are detected.
The typical structure of a motorcycle assault group consists of six to eight motorcycles, with one or two soldiers per vehicle. Once they are within firing range of the targeted Ukrainian position, the riders dismount from their bikes to begin the actual attack, often striking from two or three flanks at once.
Sources: ISW; Reuters; Le Monde
Texts and research: Emmanuel Grynszpan and Flavie Holzinger
Illustration: Victoria Denys
Cartography: Xemartin Laborde
Web development: Victor Simonnet
Coordination: Riccardo Pravettoni
English version: Zorro Maplestone