A Ukrainian soldier digs a trench outside the capital Kyiv in March. Faced with a more powerful Russian army, the Ukrainians had to find a way to defend themselves. The Ukrainians emphasized basic measures, like digging deeper trenches to defend against Russian artillery, as well as high-tech methods, like using tablets on the battlefield to coordinate artillery fire. their.
Vadim Ghirda / AP
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A Ukrainian soldier digs a trench outside the capital Kyiv in March. Faced with a more powerful Russian army, the Ukrainians had to find a way to defend themselves. The Ukrainians emphasized basic measures, like digging deeper trenches to defend against Russian artillery, as well as high-tech methods, like using tablets on the battlefield to coordinate artillery fire. their.
Vadim Ghirda / AP
KYIV, Ukraine – There are two important things to know about military trenches. First, you’ll never find a soldier who likes to dig one. Second, the deeper they go, the safer they are.
“Digging a hole is not fun”, said Stefan Korshak, an American who knows the Ukrainian army very well. He lived in Ukraine for 25 years and covered the war for Kyiv Post.
“Their army has developed the discipline to make soldiers dig holes, as soon as they stop, wherever they are, anytime they can be hit by Russian artillery. And that saved lives. live,” said Mr. Korshak.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainian military was simply superior. Since then, Ukraine has had to find creative ways to defend itself and fight back, from low-tech to high-tech.
You could call them ‘war hacks.’ And many seem to be active.
Retired US Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges saw the improvement of the Ukrainian army from the very beginning. He became commander of the United States Army in Europe shortly after the first invasion of Russia.
When the U.S. military helped train the Ukrainians, he was immediately struck by their technological savvy when the United States provided radar equipment to detect Russian artillery fire.
“I quickly discovered that radar was better than I realized,” says Hodges. “The Ukrainians took it and were able to use it in ways that I didn’t know was possible. And that’s not just the technical part, it’s the tactical part, the way they use it.”
He continued to be impressed by Ukrainian ingenuity in later years.
“Then I saw where they made their own drones with a combination of the military and the things that were available,” Hodges said in an interview from Germany, where he currently works. with European Center for Policy Analysis.
In the current skirmish, Ukraine is receiving US and Turkish drones that have proven effective against Russian armor and troops.
The Ukrainian military displays a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone at a military parade in the capital Kyiv on August 20, 2021. Russia has a much larger air force than Ukraine, but Ukraine have used drones effectively in the current conflict.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
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The Ukrainian military displays a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone at a military parade in the capital Kyiv on August 20, 2021. Russia has a much larger air force than Ukraine, but Ukraine have used drones effectively in the current conflict.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
Meanwhile, Ukrainian artillery units are using a network of tablets on the battlefield. This allowed them to better coordinate their attacks on the Russians.
The Ukrainians who were shot down in the past now have large artillery pieces recently delivered by the US, which has helped level the field to some extent. The Americans are also offering a week-long crash course on how to use them, having trained several hundred Ukrainian soldiers in recent weeks.
“It’s not surprising to me that they’re doing a great job getting new equipment and how quickly they can learn how to use it,” Hodges said.
In the air war, Russia has far more fighters than the old generation of Soviet-era MiGs that the Ukrainians are flying. Ukraine also has a very limited ground air defense system.
Russia is expected to destroy the Ukrainian air force within days. Instead, Ukraine said it shot down 200 Russian planes. The Ukrainians used shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to bring down low-flying helicopters and S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to bring down higher-flying planes.
A Ukrainian soldier examines the wreckage of a Russian Air Force Su-25 jet after the battle over the village of Kolonshchyna, Ukraine, on April 21. Russia is expected to establish air superiority in the early days. first of the war. But Ukraine’s air defenses were so effective that Russian pilots often fired their weapons while flying over Russia and never entered Ukrainian airspace.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
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A Ukrainian soldier examines the wreckage of a Russian Air Force Su-25 jet after the battle over the village of Kolonshchyna, Ukraine, on April 21. Russia is expected to establish air superiority in the early days. first of the war. But Ukraine’s air defenses were so effective that Russian pilots often fired their weapons while flying over Russia and never entered Ukrainian airspace.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
As a result, Russian pilots often fire missiles at long distances – from the skies of Russia or the Black Sea – rather than flying into Ukrainian space.
“Our aircraft could not cope technologically. It is clear what the outcome of the air battles will be,” said Lieutenant Colonel Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force. “So we have to use what we have to the fullest extent. There is no choice but to preserve our equipment and the lives of our pilots.”
Russia is also expected to prevail in the information war. However, Ukraine is often one step ahead. It cut off Russian cell phones that the Russians brought into the country.
“You don’t just turn off roaming from one country, to another, overnight,” says Cathal Mc Daidan expert in mobile security with Adaptive mobile security in Ireland, who were watching the war closely. “You know, there’s a plan, there’s a lot of planning. Possible planning is done in advance.”
A very good article from the head of SSSCIP on Ukraine #Mobile phone network react. Interestingly, he also claims to block all phone calls from #Ukraine going to Russia is *not* made, to track these conversations. We have updated our blog to reflect this https://t.co/G2TvbJgeor
– Cathal Mc Daid (@mcdaidc) April 4, 2022
When the Russians started stealing Ukrainian cell phones, Ukrainian citizens reported the theft. This allowed Ukrainian officials to quietly listen in on the calls the Russians made on those stolen phones.
Mc Daid said the Ukrainians learned many tricks fighting the Russians.
Mc Daid said: “I saw a great comment. You said ‘an army marching on belly’, and someone replied with a tweet saying, ‘what an army seems to be doing. marching is their mobile network'”.
And, in the case of Ukraine, its ingenuity.
Greg Myre is NPR’s national security correspondent. Follow him @gregmyre1.
