Clément Molin Profile picture
Sep 21, 2025 20 tweets 9 min read Read on X
In #Ukraine 🇺🇦 the new underground war

If you want to survive in Ukraine, you must dig and hide. If you are seen outside, your life expectancy is low.

Modern armies must then adapt, to hide artillery, troops, mortars and supply roads.

🧵THREAD🧵1/20 ⬇️
Do you remember the "shoot and scoot" strategy ?

It was using western artillery, especially wheeled one like Caesars to fire on russian positions before leaving the area.

This strategy is dead in the high intensity war in Ukraine. Now the Caesars are buried underground.
But why are these ultra-mobile guns no longer used for their "shoot and scout" mission? Because they are quickly spotted and pursued by drones for 10-20 km behind the front.

In a war of position, the greatest danger comes from drones, not counter-batteries, so you have to dig.
This video that I also found on TikTok is very interesting, because it shows us a traditionnal japanese or vietnamese strategy against US Air Power : hiding mortars under the soil, opening just to shoot.

Impossible then, to locate the source of this mortar !
Digging is the main ukrainian strategy to survive and to stop russian army.

Baltic countries, Finland and Poland must also prepare these kinds of fortifications. Image
Any journalist going to Ukraine will show and know how the reality is. If you are not hiding under the soil, you can be killed very fast.

Dones are everywhere and see everything. Some are stopping on the sides of roads to attack logistics.
The current ukrainian strategy is the following :

-strike and kill as much russians as possible with drones
-fortify everything (ditches, barbed row, dragon teeths...)
-dig positions, hide in cities, protect logistics Image
TikToks posted online are also showing these anti-drone nets placed over roads.

The goal is to prevent drones from attacking main roads and logistics. These nets are not infallible, but they help reduce drone strikes on logistics.
In the future, there is even possibility that they will try to even hide the main roads with camouflaged nets, but it will however cost a lot of money...

At least, they are protecting the main roads to the frontline. Image
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If you cannot hide, you must be very fast. This is the reason why both Ukraine and Russia are using motorcycles, quads, buggys and others high speed means to supply the frontline.
Ukraine is now also using ground robots, for different missions, protecting the lives of its soldiers :

-supplies
-fire support
-mine laying
-KIA/WIA evacuation Image
Most frontline villages and cities are destoyed. Here is how they look like. Hiding in houses is not really a solution for soldiers. Image
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Most of the war is now happening underground. Soldiers are sleeping underground, they eat underground, they fight underground, they launch drones underground.

They leave the soil just to fight (not really often) and to leave the position. Image
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On the other side (Russia is attacking), russian soldiers are trying to find solutions.

They are not using armoured vehicles anymore (destroyed before reaching the frontline) but mobile forces (moto) or infantry. Often, they use old abandonned pipelines to infiltrate. Image
To recapitulate, both armies understood the new dynamics of war. If you are not hiding yourself under the surface of the earth, you can be spotted, targeted and killed.

From artillery to infantry and supply roads, you must hide and dig.
In this video, you can see an artillery crew. They just go out to shoot and then hide again, but they need a very big hole, made by excavator.

If you support Ukraine and are willing to help, you can support @Teoyaomiquu fundraisings.

As we are talking, ukrainian excavators are digging massive new lines, expanding defenses and existing lines.

Since 2 weeks, we have located 6 new defensive lines, 2 in Zaporizhia, 2 in Dnipropetrovsk and 2 in Donetsk oblasts. Image
This is my guess of where new defensive lines under construction will be standing ! In green is russian progress in 2025. Image
For Ukraine, Russia and the few countries where drones are more and more used (Sudan, Congo, Mali, Myanmar...), there is no problem saying they are the main threat.

For the others, it's time to understand they can be used for everything and are very dangerous.

-> terrorist attacks
-> air recon over military, industry, airport
-> naval attacks
-> mine laying, bridge destruction
->targeted assassination
->sabotage
...Image
Thank you for following this thread. Don't hesitate to repost and follow me !

What do you want me to talk about in my next threads ? Any other conflict ? I will talk about Congo, in french, in my next analysis. Image

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More from @clement_molin

May 16
On Ukraine's 🇺🇦 southern front, Russian 🇷🇺 forces are pushing near Orikhiv, while ukrainian forces continue to launch cleaning operations.

The Russian army has intensified its attempts to push the front, while the ukrainians reinforced their fortifications.

🧵THREAD🧵1/13 ⬇️ Image
The southern/south-esatern front of Ukraine is the one that saw the biggest change since 2024 started.

This front is currently the second most important for Russia (1st is Donbas, 3rd is the Oskil).

Maps in the thread are from @M0nstas's online map. Image
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In the Novopavlivka-Ivanivka area west of Pokrovsk, Russia is trying to capture ukrainian strongholds in the region.

They have a lot of difficulties due to the number of ditches, fortified lines and rivers. In Novopavlivka, infiltration attempts continue without much success.

On the first (unfinished) fortified line, russian forces are trying to cross under fire the ditches (more than 100 bodies are lying there) and constantly manage to advance to Ivanivka before getting destroyed.Image
Read 13 tweets
May 14
Behind the Oskil River, the Ukrainian 🇺🇦 army is still holding out in three pockets: Kupiansk, Borova, and Lyman.

The Russian 🇷🇺 army has intensified its infiltrations in Lyman and Kupiansk in recent weeks, using the cover of trees.

🧵THREAD🧵1/10 ⬇️ Image
In four years, the Oskil front (named after the river crossed in October 2022) has barely moved.

Russian forces have mainly succeeded in advancing in three directions: toward Senkove, cutting the front in two; then toward Lyman, cutting it in three; and finally toward Dvorichna. Image
Image
Near Lyman, russian forces are launching important infiltrations, using the tree cover in the region.

They are mainly pushing south and north of the city, some soldiers even crossed the Siverski Donets river. The main objective is to cut the city from the rear. Image
Read 10 tweets
May 13
In the remaining Ukrainian 🇺🇦-controlled Donbas, Russia is currently pushing 3 offensives, on 3 key cities : Sloviansk, Kostiantynivka, and Dobropilla.

The Russian army has recently made some progress towards several key positions in the region.

🧵THREAD🧵1/14 ⬇️ Image
The first direction is the Sloviansk one. After the fall of Siversk 6 months ago, russian forces have been slowly crawling towards Rai Oleksandrivka, a strategic height overlooking Sloviansk/Kramatorsk agglomeration.

They are slowly nearing Mykolaivka and Sloviansk itself. Image
Here are the suspectied russian offensive routes in black, with geolocated videos of ukrainian strikes in the last 31 days in red.

Blue circles are ukrainian strongholds. The grey zone is expanding and the situation is slowly worsening, this is the main russian success of 2026. Image
Read 14 tweets
May 11
Le drone terrestre peut-il remplacer le soldat ?

Dans le Donbass, ce sont 22 000 robots terrestres qui ont remplacé des soldats ukrainiens 🇺🇦 sur la ligne de front durant les premiers mois de 2026.

(English 🇬🇧 below for the slides)

🧵THREAD🧵1/10⬇️ Image
Le chiffre est du Président Zelensky lui-même, sur le seul premier trimestre 2026.

Il montre à quel point cette nouvelle technologie est sur le point de devenir indispensable sur le front. Image
➤ Le marché ukrainien est passé de 500 drones terrestres produits en 2024 à environ 20 000 au seul premier trimestre 2026. Plus de 280 entreprises, près de 310 modèles distincts. Une bascule de l'artisanat à la production de série en dix-huit mois. Image
Read 10 tweets
May 11
In the Ukrainian 🇺🇦 occupied territories, Russia 🇷🇺 has developed significant military linked infrastructure projects.

New highways, water pipes, railways, power lines, military bases, building reconstruction can be seen in multiple places in Ukraine.

🧵THREAD🧵1/18 ⬇️ Image
West of Taganrog, the Rostov-Mariupol road has been slightly expanded, for both civilian and military purpose.

This snapshot is inside Russia.
After the border with Ukraine, the same road is again much larger. There is even a new parking lot.

This road is in fact the new Russia-Crimea northern road (the southern road is going through Kerch bridge).
Read 18 tweets
May 7
Comment suivre la guerre en Ukraine 🇺🇦🇷🇺 soit-même ?

Oubliez Liveuamap, oubliez l'ISW, oubliez les médias traditionnel, il est ici question des véritables outils accessibles gratuitement !

Les outils en sources ouvertes pour suivre la guerre en Ukraine :

🧵THREAD🧵1/22 ⬇️ Image
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1- Une bonne carte

Il existe des dizaines de cartes en ligne, voici les plus intéressantes :

🔹map.ukrdailyupdate.com (pro-ukraine, mais avec plus de 200 vidéos géolocalisées par jour)
🔹playframap.github.io (carte de Playfra, pro-ukraine mais la carte est plutôt neutre, utilisant de nombreuses sources de terrain)
🔹deepstatemap.live (pro-ukraine, proche du gouvernement ukrainien mais conservant une constance dans la guerre + beaucoup des sources de terrain)
🔹google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie… (carte d'AMK mapping, pro-russe, carte bien plus progressive que les autres)
🔹ukraineviews.org (outil rassemblant 12 ! cartes interactives dont 6 pro-russes)
🔹uacontrolmap.com (carte neutre utilisant uniquement les vidéos géolocalisées)
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2- Bases de données des pertes de militaires :

🔹Pour la Russie : en.zona.media/article/2026/0… (média russe dissident)
🔹Pour l'Ukraine : ualosses.org/en/soldiers/ (groupe ukrainien, infos concordantes avec d'autres sources) Image
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Read 22 tweets

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