Thread by @sambendett

1/ QUICK TAKE from Russia's Project Archangel volunteer effort on the impact of Ukrainian drones on Russian advances and tactics - quick translation as follows: "How are things now? Frankly, they suck. From October'23 to today, the Ukrainian forces have been slowing down and stopping our offensives in one area or another with..." t.me/projectArchang…

2/ "...the help of special (separate) UAV detachments - representatives of the Ukrainian forces. There were initially 10 such detachments operating near Avdiivka. In addition to maneuvering combined arms reserves, the Ukrainian command also maneuvers these detachments."

3/ The consumption rates of FPV drones among Ukr. forces have been described as follows: 3-4 per for each of our fighters in the assault group when repelling our attack; 6-10 per tank or IFV/APC. The result is dozens of knocked out and destroyed tanks and IFVs/APCs/MTLBs near Avdiivka..."

4/ "...and the failure of the original plan to break through the front and create a large salient. We then had to create a small salient and gnaw our way through the city. The general impressions from our wounded from the Zaporozhye direction, from near Avdiivka and Chasov Yar are as follows..."

5/ "... our infantry "catches" (absorbs strikes by) drones and occupies territory when the enemy runs out of drones, while we still have people in the ranks. I say all this in the most polite way possible - this is a very raw cry from my very soul. To be more specific..."

6/ "When preparing for an assault, it is necessary to conduct electronic reconnaissance using drone detectors, and to map out frequencies at which enemy FPVs, Mavics and other drones operate. But this is not done, because drone detectors are supplied by volunteers, or soldier buy their own."

7/ "The command of many military units either doesn't care or actually helps to obtain individual samples. There is no sufficient supply (centralized or decentralized). There is no tactual inclusion of radio electronic reconnaissance in the preparation for an offensive. As a rule, there are some exceptions."

8/ "Trench electronic warfare in the form of samples that are quite cheap for the MOD (but not for volunteers and fighters) is purchased by volunteers or by soldiers at their own expense. The number (of systems) is insufficient relative to the number of assault groups involved."

9/ "The level of training and knowledge of each specific (EW) jammer is insufficient, because people themselves are forced to study (the specs), to the best of their ability and time. Linking EW using drone detectors with suppressing current frequencies of Ukrainian drones using EW is, as a rule, not carried out..."

10/ " ...- the results are carcasses of our tanks and infantry fighting vehicles near Avdiivka. Every third infantryman can be given a shotgun for an assault, since there may be no skirmishes with enemy infantry - the Ukrainians may retreat from positions under our artillery fire - but there will definitely be raids by Ukr. drones."

11/ "But! There are not enough shotguns, there is not enough ammunition for them, and, most importantly, there is no appropriate fire training, as well as no sufficient time for combat training in general. The near rear of our troops suffers from raids by Ukr. “Baba Yagas” and FPV drones. What does our air defense have to oppose this?"

12/ "With the efforts by other volunteer workers and at our own expense, we got thermal imagers for (light and heavy machine guns) for air surveillance posts. This quantity is not enough to cover the entire front, but, for example, even this quantity was enough to start knocking down Ukrainian FPVs 1-4 per day."

13/ "At our own expense and with the help of private assistance, we acquired additional munitions - yet their numbers are laughable. But even one anti-aircraft machine gun per brigade(!) with a thermal imager sooner or later shot down the Baba Yaga drone, according to feedback."

14/ "There were never enough anti-aircraft mobile groups. Basically, these are self-initiated groups led by air defense chiefs in regiments or brigades. This is approximately how things stand now, according to wounded soldiers discussing their combat experience and sharing their observations."

15/ "The length of (we don't care-ness) of the previous MOD leadership in the fight against drones is equal to the depth of the fall of the ambitious initial plans for the autumn '23-winter'24 offensive. The companies had to replenish troops monthly throughout the offensive in the Avdiivka - the inability to field EW + air defense against enemy drones is the main reason."

16/ "The Ukrainian forces decided to change the balance in our grinding strategy in their favor, especially when we are advancing. This is done by maneuvering reserves, including UAV units, plus tactics for repelling our attacks - when we begin to fire, the Ukrainians leave their forward positions and retreat to the second line - at this point they suffer most of their losses."

17/ “When our assault groups advance, the Ukr. reconnaissance teams begin to target and direct artillery, mortars, FPV drones and automatic guns - our soldiers then start suffering losses. After our forces occupy the Ukr. positions, they are again hammered by enemy artillery and drones, and suffer losses again.

18/ “We are then being forced to retreat because of fires and the impact of drones. The Ukr. forces then can go on a counterattack. When our soldiers retreat, the Ukrainians take up the positions."

19/ "Therefore, in order to turn the grinding advance in our favor, it is necessary to solve the problem of Ukrainian drones. And of our poor combat training - need to increase time, provide better quality materials, and change the approach to conducting operations by refusing to simply take positions for the sake of holding positions."

20/ "The good news is that the problem of air defense and electronic warfare of the front line and near rear has been addressed. The bad news is that it happened only recently, although the Ukrainians have been attacking our front and near rear since July 2023."

21/ "Now we are waiting for more people, weapons and equipment - since the process is underway, now all enthusiasts have a chance to prove themselves, and manufacturers and bloggers have a chance to inform about what equipment they can offer. We shouldn’t forget about tactics; on the contrary, it’s time to record the enemy’s and our own tactics and start tracking major trends."