January 21, 2026: Russian military and political leaders are growing increasingly concerned at the slow, or no, movement of Russian forces in Ukraine. So far, Russia has lost 1.2 million soldiers killed, disabled, missing or captured. Russian men eligible for military service are increasingly resistant to financial inducements to join. Those who are in Ukraine as soldiers have a good excuse for not moving around much. Russia has been on the offensive since the war began, but their speed of advance has slowed down each year of its current four year length. Pre-war Russian army planning documents, based on World War II experience, stipulated that Russian troops should be able to advance at between 1.5 and 3 kilometers a day. In Ukraine, the latest Russian offensive operations have been advancing at the rate of one or two kilometers a month.

There is a reason for this and it’s the drones. Both Russian and Ukrainian troops are using cheap drones controlled by soldiers a few kilometers distant who use First Person Viewing or FPV goggles to see what the video camera on the drone sees. Drones with night vision cameras are more common now so the war can go on round the clock. Surveillance drones are reused if they survive a mission in an increasingly dangerous battle space. Attack drones carry half a kilogram of explosives, so it can instantly turn the drone into a flying bomb that can fly into a target and detonate. Some of these drones just drop their explosives and return to the operator to be recharged and rearmed.

This form of 24 hour warfare is an awesome and debilitating form of combat, especially when used in large numbers over the combat zone. If a target isn’t moving from a bunker it fled to, the drone operator can call in more drones to try and get into the bunker. This is why you see so many military targets equipped with nets. Tanks have them, as do bunkers, trenches and any target that wants to avoid being overwhelmed by drones seeking to get at you. Drone operators will team together to take down a target by coming from every possible direction and taking turns demolishing nets. The only secure bunker is one with a blast door and an escape tunnel so the soldiers can get to another bunker that isn’t under siege by drones.

The front in Ukraine is a thousand kilometers long and soldiers are increasingly trapped in their bunkers and trenches. Bunkers are much safer from drone attacks than trenches. Going out in the open exposes you to the immediate attention of any FPV drones in the vicinity and a life cut short by deadly quadcopters that can see and kill you. Survival without a lot of drone and jamming support is unlikely. Both sides have videos of soldiers caught in the open and hunted down by FPV drones

Each operator has a copilot who stares at a tablet computer showing the situation in the area the FPV drone is operating. The operator works with a headset that covers his eyes. The copilot describes and comments on the big picture that the FPV camera does not see. Most drones are able to complete their mission, whether it is a one-way attack or a reconnaissance and surveillance mission. The recon missions are usually survivable and enable the drone to be reused. All these drones, including the armed ones, are constantly performing surveillance, which means that both sides commit enough drones to maintain constant surveillance over a portion of the front line, to a depth, into enemy territory, of at least a few kilometers.

This massive use of FPV-armed drones has revolutionized warfare in Ukraine and both sides are producing as many as they can. Not having enough of these to match the number the enemy has in a portion of the front means you are at a serious disadvantage in that area. These drones are still evolving in terms of design and use and are becoming more effective and essential.

Ukrainians were particularly adept at modifying quadcopters to carry explosives. If the operator found an enemy tank or lighter armored vehicle with a top hatch open, the vehicle could be destroyed when an explosive was dropped through the open hatch. The explosives were often used against Russian troops in foxholes or open trenches. This capability is bad for Russian morale and the Ukrainians made the most of it. As a result, the four years of Russian offensive operations have slowed to a crawl.

It’s not really sloth, it’s self-preservation.