Russian forces are trying to counter Ukrainian attacks with "medium-range" drones by disguising their cargo and installing powerful jamming systems to disrupt Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system, Reuters reports.
Kiev's development of "medium-range" drones, which can accurately and cheaply strike targets dozens of kilometers behind the front line and are often controlled via Starlink, has changed the course of the war in Ukraine.
As part of a large-scale campaign of medium-range strikes range this year, Ukraine has attacked supply lines, fuel depots, air defense sites and command centers, disrupting Russian military logistics and causing fuel shortages in Russian-occupied Crimea.
But Russia is now developing a range of ways to try to counter the medium-range strikes, four Ukrainian commanders and drone pilots said.
Jamming systems
Russia's methods for protecting fuel and other military supplies range from hiding shipments in civilian vehicles to using sophisticated electronic jamming systems that block the communications used to control drones, the sources said.
They said Russia has deployed jamming systems near cities and military sites, including some that could disrupt the Starlink systems operated by Musk's SpaceX company.
Most Ukrainian Medium-range strike drone missions are conducted via Starlink, which allows a pilot to communicate remotely with the drone and has until now been considered largely resistant to jamming.
Seriy Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said Russia has a jamming system called "Volna Kupol Garant" that emits a signal strong enough to destabilize the Starlink connection in an area of about 20 square kilometers. He added that about 10 such systems have been detected so far.
However, the system itself is becoming a primary target for Ukrainian drone teams, which are seeking to remove any obstacles to their flights.
The 422nd Regiment of the Ukrainian army has been involved in operations to destroy two of these systems, including one that was hit a few hours after it was discovered during a joint mission with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Kolesnik said.
"As soon as we hit this installation, our Starlink drones started flying without any problems," said a team commander who uses the call sign "Conductor."
Meanwhile, Musk has cut off Russian forces' access to Starlink to prevent Moscow from using the system in its own drone attacks.
Military supplies in civilian vehicles resources
Kolesnik and other drone commanders described some of the tactics Moscow uses to protect fuel and other supplies.
"We hit water tankers and they were burning because there was gasoline inside," he explained. "We have hit milk trucks that were carrying diesel".
Russian forces are now using small convoys of fuel tankers protected by pickup trucks with machine guns mounted on them, moving on smaller roads to avoid detection and using civilian vehicles to transport supplies, Ukrainian commanders said.
Ukrainian military intelligence has reported that Russian forces are using small civilian cars, quadricycles and motorcycles to transport fuel, ammunition and supplies to the front.
They are also using camouflaged shelters, abandoned buildings and agricultural facilities to conceal their supplies, as well as civilian gas stations to store fuel for military needs, the intelligence said.
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the Ukrainian medium-range strikes were probably the most significant development in battlefield this year, but Moscow is beginning to have some success in countering them.
"If they increase production of jamming systems, they could make it more difficult to conduct the medium-range strike campaign," he warned.
Despite its impact, the medium-range strike campaign has not stopped deadly Russian attacks on Ukraine; Russia still controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory four years after the war began, and not all Ukrainian drone attacks are successful.