Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Russia's use of frontline 'combat donkeys' is backfiring, according to Russian warbloggers. They say that the animals' large thermal signature is allowing the Ukrainians to track them easily and expose hidden Russian positions. ⬇️

https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1930296003002802683

2/ The Russian army has been using donkeys to replace vehicles in frontline logistics since at least the start of 2025. The thread below is a compilation of reports of donkey use on the front in Ukraine.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1913308406267445423

3/ A recent appearance by General Andrey Kartapolov on the 'Solovyov Live' show on the Russia 1 TV channel has attracted ridicule from warbloggers due to the general's claim that the donkeys don't get noticed because Ukrainian operators mistake them for roe deer.

4/ 'Reporter Filatov' is scathing:

"Even those [drone] developers who have never been to the front line, during testing, see moose in the forest from a couple of kilometers away in the thermal imagers of the Mavic 3T."

5/ "Question. Does this idiot know about the existence of a thermal imager on a quadcopter and the performance characteristics of this thermal imager?

6/ "Before the brilliant idea of ​​sending a donkey to the front lines came to his stupid head, had he heard of the existence of "flying thermal imagers" that transmit images via witchcraft Wi-Fi?

It's for lunatics."

7/ Commenting on the video at the top of this thread, he writes: "If it drags 120 mm mortars, then firing from a mortar is ~7 km to reach the enemy, from our extreme [closest] positions 2-3 km."

8/ "This means that the donkey is used in the range of UAVs, which means this is unmasking of firing positions."

He points out that unmanned ground vehicles have a much smaller thermal signature and don't take as much effort to maintain:

9/ "Open Avito [Russian equivalent of eBay]. Type in Donkey. Get the price of this pack animal (depending on the age and health of the individual)."

10/ "Call people who deal with animals and find out how much the donkey eats and drinks per day. Calculate. Get the amount that, at a minimum, should be spent on this "innovation".

11/ "Then look at the price of the UGV. With and without an electric drive.

Compare the thermal signatures and headaches from using pack animals.

You get it: only a moron could suggest using pack animals on the front line.

Or a traitor."

12/ 'Signalman Kiba' points out that despite Kartapolov's claim, it is in fact rather easy to tell the difference between a deer and a donkey using a thermal imager:

13/ "Now, in addition, so as not to be unfounded, about the difference in thermal signatures in the thermal imager lens:

14/ "Photo 1, known for its memetic nature (cropped for censorship reasons) - the photo was taken by a US UAV 10 years ago, in Afghanistan. The silhouette of a donkey is clearly visible.

Photo 2 - a roe deer in a thermal imager

15/ "Conclusion - modern thermal surveillance equipment allows you to identify an object with high accuracy, given the proper qualifications of the operator." /end

Sources:
🔹 t.me/filatovcorr/51…
🔹 t.me/filatovcorr/51…
🔹 t.me/signalman_diar…