Ukraine fortifies frontline roads with anti-drone nets.
Both Moscow and Kyiv are covering roads with anti‑drone nets
Why nets are now a battlefield feature
In the fourth year of Russia’s invasion, each army is using cheap drones loaded with explosives and swarming supply routes. Ukrainian soldiers are mounting green nets on 4‑metre poles that stretch for kilometres of road in Donetsk, the region that has seen the most intense fighting.
How the nets work
- When a drone hits the net, it short‑circuits and can no longer target vehicles.
- Ukrainian engineering brigade commander Denis says the country is “shifting into a drone war.”
Russian nets are equally aggressive
The Russian defence ministry quoted a soldier with the call sign “Ares” saying in April: “We weave nets like spiders— for extremely dangerous birds without feathers.” Earlier pro‑Kremlin media also showed soldiers mounting similar nets close to the front.
Every civilian is on guard
Since early July, Dobropillia, a small town only 20 kilometres from the front line, has become a target for Russian FPV drone attacks. AFP journalists observed residents sprinting to shops for cover when a drone buzzed overhead. When the whirring died down, the townsfolk returned to their routine.
Drones threaten hospitals and ambulances
Hospital director Vadym Babkov says FPVs “spare neither medical workers nor civilians.” Because roads are not yet 100% covered by nets, ambulances must detour, reducing patients’ chances of survival. In Belgorod, authorities have retrofitted ambulances with metal anti‑drone cages— a technology once reserved for tanks and personnel carriers.
New everyday habits in a town under attack
Olga, a 45‑year‑old waitress in a small cafe and mini‑market in Dobropillia, describes her coping strategy: when she feels a drone will attack, she opens all windows to avoid glass shards. She says the atmosphere in the town has become “frightening.” The shop next to her was recently hit by an FPV drone, leaving its owner in a coma.
Living day by day
Despite constant road attacks, Olga still receives products to sell in her cafe, because suppliers take detours away from the front. She admits she does not know for how long. “Everything hangs in the air now… We’re living day by day,” she said.
