The war in Ukraine is one of robots and horses.
Its WW1-style trench warfare with modern killing machines.
Aerial drones have long been a critical component of Russias war in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian soldiers operates a drone.© Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Both sides employ them to monitor the battlefield and kill the enemy.
In the past few months, ground drones have entered the mix in a big way.
The UAVs provided targeting information as the UGVs barrel forward, cleared out enemy positions, and sometimes exploded.
The use of robots is widespread and necessary in the war in Ukraine.
The Russian military, augmented by some North Korean troops, outnumbers Ukraine 5 to 1.
Thats come to pass, though robot dogs are better suited to spying and reconnaissance.
They cant carry a heavy load and lose their balance when firing a weapon.
That setup helps them navigate the mud and debris typical of an Eastern European battlefield.
Russia has UGVs too.
Videos have also surfaced online of the machines carrying the dead away from the frontlines.
Russian state media shows selected footage of Russian combat UGVs on trials.
The Russians are quite creative, Vizirenko remembers thinking when he first saw the animals, Ukrainian Army Sgt.
Ihor Vizirenko told the Journal.
Now the war is drones and artillery.
As soon as their vehicles get near the front line, Ukrainians are destroying them.
Theyre also better at moving through muddy and messy battlefields that will trip up UGVs.
You all laugh about the horses at the front.
Look at the road near Pogreby.
He panned his phone camera over a mess of destroyed equipment along the road.
A Russian soldier films the situation near the settlement of Pogreby in the Kursk region.
A wide-bodied UGV can have trouble navigating a muddy road and get caught on a dozen things.
UAVs dont have the carrying capacity to deliver critical supplies to the frontline.
But a man and a horse?
A military can do a lot with a man and a horse.
Sometimes the old ways are tried and true for a reason.
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