28-07-2025
Drone warfare in the Ukraine war
A mobile position of the Kyiv territorial anti-aircraft defence during guard duty in the east of the region in Kyiv, on 14 July. The team work from mobile positions and operate a Browning M2 12.7mm calibre heavy machine gun, which they mainly use to shoot down Shaheed drones during Russian strikes Photograph: Maria Senovilla/EPA
A drone pilot prepares a Stalker first-person view (fpv) drone during tests at an undisclosed location on 10 July Photograph: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian servicemen install anti-drone nets over a road at an undisclosed location in the eastern Donetsk region on 8 July. Fishing nets have also been used in certain parts of the drone-free corridor Photograph: Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images
A Ukrainian serviceman stands guard with a shotgun as his fellow soldiers install anti-drone nets Photograph: Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images
A street protected by the anti-drone nets of various types in the city of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region, on 15 July Photograph: Press service of the 65th Mechanized Brigade/EPA
Two soldiers from a Ukrainian army anti-aircraft artillery brigade scan their sector for Shahed drones on Ukraine's southern frontline on 8 July, the night Russia launched the largest combined airstrikes since it began its full-scale invasion. The unit operates a truck-mounted ZU-23-2 air defence system with a twin 23-calibre gun capable of targeting objects flying below 2,500 metres. Russia has been sending swarms of drones and many decoys to overwhelm Ukrainian defences. New types of Shaheds (Geran 2) are able to fly at higher altitude and are resistant to GPS jamming Photograph: Maria Senovilla/EPA
Ukrainian air defence system operators check for threats on Ukraine's southern frontline at an undisclosed location on 8 July. The unit operates a Ukrainian 9K33 Osa manpads (man-portable air defence system) that works with guided missiles, capable of hitting high-flying objects, and is one of the most widely used by the Russian and Ukrainian armies in the war Photograph: Maria Senovilla/EPA
Ukrainian air defence system operators during the night when Russia launched the largest combined airstrike since it began its full-scale invasion Photograph: Maria Senovilla/EPA
Myhola Mondrayev, a farmer in Sumy region, who serves three days a week in a territorial defence unit, moves a Gerbera decoy drone that was shot down by his unit. Even 30 miles from the frontline, Russian border drones are a persistent threat to Ukrainian farmers Photograph: Peter Beaumont/The Guardian
An agricultural worker talks on the phone while carrying a shotgun to protect the driver of a combine harvester from Russian FPV drones in the field near Orikhiv, a few miles from the frontline Photograph: Ukrinform/Shutterstock
A Russian Geran 2 drone attacks a building during Russia's massive missile and drone attack in Kyiv on 17 June Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP
A residential building damaged after a Russian drone attack in Odesa on 28 June. The attack on Ukraine's southern port city killed two people and wounded 14, including children, local authorities said. Moscow has stepped up drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, and peace talks initiated by the US to end the three-year conflict have stalled Photograph: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP/Getty Images
A Ukrainian officer points to a thermobaric charge from a downed Russian drone in a research laboratory in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on 14 November 2024. Russia has reportedly upgraded the Iranian Shaheed drone, which is now produced under licence in Tatarstan to increase its altitude and make it harder to intercept. Newer versions are also harder to electronically jam and some are fitted with thermobaric warheads as well as being able to operate autonomously through AI Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP
A Ukrainian serviceman from the anti-drone mobile fire team prepares to shoot down a Russian drone flying toward Kharkiv, with a ZU-23 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled autocannon, in the late evening of 2 July Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA
An anti-aircraft cannon fires towards Russian drones and missiles during an overnight shift in Kharkiv region on 2 July Photograph: Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters
Soldiers from a fibre-optic drone unit of the 93rd Brigade test drones before heading to the front lines in Donetsk oblast on 17 June. The drones, which operate without radio signals, are harder to detect or jam and use fibre-optic cables to transmit high-quality images from a distance Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Service members of the 13th operative purpose brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine check a Ukrainian-made Leleka reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle before its launch near the frontline on 20 July Photograph: Serhii Korovainyi/Reuters
Soldiers from a fibre-optic drone unit of the 93rd brigade test the drones before going to the front on 17 June Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
A Ukrainian soldier checks a Leleka drone before an exercise. The drone can fly for up to an hour and a half, covering more than 50 miles (80km). Its electric motors are quiet, and yet Russian units can spot the aircraft as soon as it takes off. Many drones are shot down, soldiers say. After 100 flights, the small aircraft must be overhauled
Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance/Alamy
