The strategy that Ukraine has employed since the beginning of the war is referred to by some military experts as “denial warfare.” This means employing tactics that can slow down, wear out, and exhaust the invading forces, even if the army lacks counterattack capability. However, this strategy does not stop the advancement or defeat the enemy.
Although the West promised support at the beginning of the war, as it dragged on, they hesitated both due to public opinion at home and fear of Russia abroad. This hesitant support prolonged the war and weakened Ukraine.
Initially, Ukraine preferred to send soldiers over the age of 27 to the front lines to protect the younger population. In the early stages of the war, there were even soldiers close to 50 years old fighting on the front lines. Due to persistent Russian offensives and Western indecision, Ukraine eventually realized it had to deploy whatever it had available to the front.
At the beginning of the war, Russia was, so to speak, disgraced. Its navy was crippled with dozens of ships being hit. Thousands of soldiers and even generals were lost on the battlefield. Abandoned vehicles, logistical and supply line issues, outdated weapons, and the inertia and sluggishness inherited from the Soviet army were exposed.
Recent analyses suggest that, thanks to its autocratic regime, Russia quickly transitioned to a wartime economy. The number of tanks and artillery it produced surpassed the total ammunition production of major European countries. Russia also called up prisoners to the military, preparing hundreds of thousands of soldiers for the front in a short time. The idea of recruiting criminals in exchange for pardoning their sentences originally came from the private military company Wagner. Wagner turned thousands of criminals into war machines. However, after Wagner’s commander Prigozhin fell out with Putin and died suspiciously, the Russian Ministry of Defense continued to successfully implement this idea.
Meanwhile, Russians entrenched and fortified every piece of land they captured as if they would never leave. This was to slow down Ukraine’s counteroffensive. In a possible counteroffensive, the Ukrainian army faces trench warfare reminiscent of World War I, along with thousands of mines laid in the direction of the assault.
Left desperate, Ukraine specialized in “fieldcraft,” a term frequently used in American military terminology. To survive and continue the war, it adapted everything at its disposal for combat and found new and simple tactics.
For example, as Ukraine’s air force lagged far behind Russia’s, it turned to drones, its only air attack weapon. Unable to catch Russian soldiers on the battlefield, Ukrainian soldiers began targeting them at their most vulnerable moments — in the bathroom — and shocked the Russian war machine with their success. Russian soldiers leaving their trenches for toilet and shower needs became targets of drone attacks at unexpected moments.
Another example of fieldcraft is the iron spikes dropped by drones. Known as “caltrops,” these sharp metal spikes were first transferred from history books to the battlefield by the Germans in World War II but the Ukrainian army was the first to deploy them via drones. Historically used to stop elephants, camels, and cavalry, these iron spikes are known in military strategy as “anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) weapons.” Because the sharp ends always point upwards, they pose a significant obstacle to wheeled vehicles when scattered across terrain and roads.
The Ukrainian army’s unmanned boats, called sea drones, have thus far incapacitated nearly 30 Russian ships. These sea drones, much cheaper compared to missiles, even helped Ukraine open a corridor for its vital grain exports. The small sea drones named Mamai, produced after Sea Baby and Magura and used in “kamikaze” style attacks, hit even Russian ports, sending the message to the Russians that “the
war can come to your home too.”
It is said that everything is fair in war. Naming the actions of soldiers who do whatever tactics require ridiculous would be a harsh judgment — until you see soldiers shooting arrows. Recently, a Chechen fighter was seen shooting arrows at Ukrainian soldiers. Soldiers using bows and arrows have been spotted a few times with night vision devices. Whether the use of VOG-17 style grenades with bows and arrows falls under fieldcraft due to scarcity is unclear, but these types of high-explosive bombs are typically launched at targets using their own grenade launchers.
Some experts also refer to the war tactics of the Ukrainian army as “drone warfare.” Unfortunately, the Ukraine-Russia War, where new tactics are employed, contributes to the updating of the art of war and military literature.
