Ukraine installs anti-drone nets over roads to protect frontline supply routes
Hit by a small, remote-controlled drone, the mangled chassis was a stark reminder of why Ukraine is hurrying to mount netting over supply routes behind the sprawling front line to thwart Russian aerial attacks.
As Russia's invasion grinds through its fourth year, Moscow and Kyiv are both menacing each other's armies with swarms of cheap drones, easily found on the market and rigged with deadly explosives.
Agence France-Presse reporters saw Ukrainian soldiers installing green nets on four-metre (13-foot) poles spanning kilometres of road in the eastern Donetsk region, where some of the war's most intense fighting has taken place.
A shop hit by a Russian FPV explosive drone in the town of Dobropillia, in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine. Photo: AFP
'When a drone hits the net, it short-circuits and it cannot target vehicles,' said 27-year-old engineering brigade commander Denis, working under the blazing sun.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
European Union sanctions 2 Chinese banks over aid to Russia
The European Union has sanctioned two small Chinese banks in its latest package of measures designed to hobble Russia's war machine, despite a warning from Beijing to expect consequences. Suifenhe Rural Commercial Bank and Heihe Rural Commercial Bank, two regional lenders from cities close to China's border with Russia, were blacklisted in the 18th package of sanctions agreed on Friday morning, diplomatic sources confirmed. The development has been weeks in the making, with Slovakia withdrawing a long-standing veto to allow the package to pass. The central European country had been blocking the move over an EU plan to stop gas imports from Russia beginning in 2028. The move could prompt retaliation from China, which has lobbied intensely behind the scenes to get the banks removed from the package. It also comes less than a week out from a high-stakes summit in Beijing During a meeting with the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned her 'three or four times' that there would be a response to the banks' inclusion, according to sources familiar with the exchange. 01:57 Volodymyr Zelensky accuses Chinese firms of supplying artillery and missiles to Russia Volodymyr Zelensky accuses Chinese firms of supplying artillery and missiles to Russia In Brussels, Chinese diplomats – including ambassador Cai Run – have held 'frank exchanges' with EU officials to try to prevent the listing, according to people involved.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Syrian president warns Israel against attempts to drag Syria into war
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Thursday accused Israel of trying to instigate a war and vowed that Syria would not be drawn into the conflict. 'We, the people of Syria, know very well who is trying to drag us into war and who is working to divide us,' Sharaa said in a dawn speech broadcast on national television. 'We will not give them the opportunity to entangle our people in a war that serves only to fragment our homeland and sow destruction.' Sharaa blamed Israel for exploiting instability in the wake of regime change, accusing it of targeting civilian infrastructure and seeking to derail reconstruction efforts. An Israeli fighter aircraft fires a flare above the city of Sweida in Syria on Tuesday. Photo: AFP 'Power alone does not guarantee victory, and igniting a war is not the same as controlling its outcome,' he said. 'We are stronger than any attempt to tear us apart.'
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Europol-led global operation takes down pro-Russian cybercrime network
A coordinated international operation has hit the infrastructure of a pro-Russian cybercrime network linked to a string of denial of service attacks targeting Ukraine and its allies, the European Union's police agency Europol announced Wednesday. Code-named Eastwood, the operation targeted the so-called NoName057(16) group, which was identified last month by Dutch authorities as being behind a series of denial-of-service attacks on several municipalities and organisations linked to a Nato summit in the Netherlands. Europol said that the cybercrime network was also involved in attacks in Sweden, Germany and Switzerland. The police agency said the international operation 'led to the disruption of an attack-infrastructure consisting of over one hundred computer systems worldwide, while a major part of the group's central server infrastructure was taken offline'. Law enforcement and judicial authorities from France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the United States took simultaneous actions against offenders and infrastructure belonging to the pro-Russian cybercrime network, it said. Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks, sabotage attempts and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine, including cyberattacks.
