Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces have released new footage showing first-person-view (FPV) drones pursuing and striking Russian assault units attempting a motorized offensive against Ukrainian positions.
The video, shared by the 59th Separate Assault Brigade of Unmanned Systems, captures a chaotic scene of Russian troops advancing in light vehicles and motorcycles, only to be met with intense fire from Ukrainian FPV drones, artillery, mines, and machine guns.
The unit described the engagement as a failed Russian assault that ended almost as quickly as it began.
In a caption accompanying the footage, the brigade stated: “Another ‘grand offensive’ was attempted by Russian infantry columns. However, everything ended for them sooner than it began: they were met by our means—FPV drones, artillery, mines, and machine guns.”
The statement continued with a sharp comparison: “From the outside, it looks like something from a circus: bears on bicycles trying to escape in complete chaos.”
The Russian assault units used a mix of repurposed civilian vehicles and lightweight motorcycles, tactics that have become increasingly common since the summer of 2024.
The shift came after Russia suffered substantial losses in armored vehicles due to the growing effectiveness of Ukrainian drone strikes. The use of motorcycles offers improved mobility, especially across mined or uneven terrain, and reflects an adaptation to the current realities of the front.
While the tactic was initially adopted by Russian forces, Ukrainian units have now begun implementing similar methods to increase speed and reduce visibility. Both sides are leaning on cheaper, more practical platforms that can navigate the fragmented and drone-dominated battlefield, where expensive, heavier systems are increasingly vulnerable.
The 59th Brigade’s footage illustrates how modern combat is shifting toward improvised, agile, and cost-effective solutions. The scenes evoke comparisons to post-apocalyptic fiction, but the underlying logic is rooted in battlefield necessity: low-cost, high-impact tools are proving more viable than complex and expensive systems in the sustained war of attrition.