Russia forming motorbike columns to escape Ukraine's drones

Telegraph

27-04-2025

Russia appears to be forming tactical motorcycle squads in an attempt to evade Ukrainian drone attacks.
Moscow's defence ministry on Saturday released a video showing a paratrooper learning to storm enemy positions using a dirt bike at a Russian training ground.
Dressed in full combat gear with a rifle slung across his back, the trooper speeds over hills and around tyres as explosions occur at the side of the track.
'Soldiers are practising offensive and defensive combat in two and three-man squads,' the caption reads.
While Moscow's troops have used motorcycles in Ukraine for more than a year, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington said the new video indicates Russia is probably 'developing a tactical doctrine for systematic offensive motorcycle usage'.
The Kremlin 'may be preparing to issue an increased number of motorcycles to Russian personnel in Ukraine' and could deploy the new tactics in the summer, the think tank added.
It said the turn to motorbikes was probably an attempt to thwart Ukrainian drones, which increasingly dominate the battlefield and account for an estimated 70 per cent of casualties.
Lieutenant Colonel Pavlo Shamshyn, a Ukrainian military spokesman, told the ISW that Russia is training its soldiers in motorbike combat tactics to increase their speed and manoeuvrability, which is crucial for evading drone strikes.
However, the noise of the bikes prevents troops from hearing approaching drones, he noted.
Lost armoured vehicles
The ISW said it had observed an increase in Russian units using motorbikes for both transport and assaults.
It also said Russia was increasingly using civilian cars for military purposes after it lost high numbers of armoured vehicles in summer and autumn 2024.
In one recent incident near the town of Bahatyr, it said Russian forces attempted an assault consisting entirely of motorcycles and civilian vehicles.
Ukrainian defence officials said they repelled the attack, destroying 15 out of 18 motorcycles and damaging nine of the other 10 vehicles.
In Sumy, Russia is reported to be sending assault groups on quad bikes from the bordering Kursk region to grab footholds in Ukrainian territory before awaiting reinforcements.
The use of motorbikes as assault vehicles is a novel military concept, although they were used extensively to deliver messages across the battlefield during the early 20th century.