Russian drones designed to maim not kill overwhelm Ukrainian medics

Telegraph

10-03-2025

Russian drones designed to maim, not kill, are overwhelming Ukrainian medics with shrapnel wounds that are much harder to treat than injuries from conventional shelling.
Battlefield surgeons say they have been inundated with soldiers injured in drone strikes – particularly by the newer FPV type which explode on impact and are guided to their targets with goggles and a fibre optic cable, meaning they can evade Ukraine's jamming.
These drones, they told The Telegraph, cause complex wounds that can involve dozens of tiny pieces of shrapnel as well as burns and other forms of trauma.
'Recently drones are causing more tiny shrapnel injuries all over the body that are getting very difficult and sometimes impossible to remove,' Ilya*, a surgeon serving on the frontline in Donetsk, told The Telegraph.
Russia has dramatically ramped up its use of FPV drones since late last year, and Ukrainian medics say they are now behind the majority of battlefield casualties.
Aleksandr, a 42-year-old medic also working in Donetsk Oblast, said that around 60 to 70 per cent of injured soldiers they treat have been wounded by FPV drones.
Ihor, a 35-year-old medic working in Kursk, said most injuries in the area are currently drone-related and are designed to draw more people onto the battlefield.
'Now, we see more wounded soldiers. Artillery shells cause larger, more lethal fragments, whereas drone strikes produce smaller wounds that are still incapacitating but often not immediately fatal,' he said.
'They (the Russians) also attach explosives to FPV drones, which can penetrate our armour,' he added. 'When that happens, it generates extreme heat, causing burns. Just a few days ago, we lost a guy to this.'
Shortages in medical equipment are exacerbating the problem, said Ilya. Some brigades are running low on tourniquets, which are used to stop heavy bleeding when limbs are injured, and some are even short on painkillers.
'I'd be asked to help one person, but quickly there would be two or three,' he said. 'I have to improvise to make sure I am able to help.'
Ilya once turned his own belt into a makeshift tourniquet, and even used part of a soldier's destroyed helmet as a brace to stabilise his head and protect his spine.
The nature of the wounds makes it more difficult to assess the treatment the soldier needs, he added.
'If the small piece gets into an artery, it will be very difficult to stop the bleeding. After an artillery attack you see straight away if the patient has such an injury,' he said. 'With drones, it is harder to know the extent of the injuries in time to save lives.'
'Moving to a drone war'
Soldiers wounded by drones also generally take up space in hospitals and triage centres for longer because of the more complicated nature of the surgery needed to treat them.
In most cases it is impossible for surgeons to get every piece of shrapnel, leaving wounded soldiers with potentially life-long complications.
Ilya treated one soldier whose back had been sprayed with shrapnel, some of which could not be removed.
'He will feel it for a long time,' he said. 'The soldiers have no choice but to live with pain for the rest of their lives.'
Donald Trump's decision to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine has made drone warfare even more deadly for the country's soldiers.
'Tactically, it means that the Ukrainians have less situational awareness, so they have less information about where Russian forces are and where drones and other military equipment are stored and can be attacked,' said Marcel Plichta, a former analyst at the US Department of Defence.
In the last few weeks, Ilya has seen Russia change its tactics and believes Moscow is 'almost moving to a drone war alone'.
The Russians, he said, 'are trying to save their numbers, so they are sending more drones instead.'
According to Mr Plichta, Russian tactics are currently to pin Ukrainians down in trenches or other cover using artillery, waiting until they are trapped, and then sending in drones to cause maximum damage.
'One small explosion in the right place can be more damaging than a large explosion a hundred yards away,' he said. 'If someone isn't killed, they will often be severely injured enough that they need to be evacuated, which puts other personnel and medics at risk getting to them and getting them out.'
As drone attacks intensify, it is becoming harder for medics to evacuate their patients.
Ilya said wounded soldiers 'can be waiting for two or even three days' before medical help arrives, while parts of the battlefield can be out of reach entirely.
'Once we would run in and out, but now the drones are always watching.'