Counter-drone nets: Russians build two-kilometre protective tunnel near Bakhmut

Wooden poles, nets and wire mesh serve as counter-drone protection for Russian troops near Bakhmut: along the road from Bakhmut to Chasiv Yar, these materials have been used to build a tunnel around two kilometres long. It is intended to protect the key supply route from Ukrainian drone attacks.

Between August 2022 and May 2023, Bakhmut saw one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Ukrainian troops held the city’s western outskirts to the end before being forced to withdraw. At the same time, the city was one of the first major testing grounds of modern drone warfare: for months, Ukrainian drone pilots provided air and artillery reconnaissance, considerably delaying the Russian advance. Only uninhabitable ruins remain of the city, once home to 70,000 inhabitants.

Net tunnel for counter-drone protection near the front

The front line currently runs only around ten kilometres west of the city, in Chasiv Yar. The newly built net tunnel on the connecting road is specifically intended to intercept first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones, which regularly attack Russian supply vehicles.