Ukraine installs anti-drone nets over roads to protect frontline supply routes
Ukrainian engineers deploy kilometres of overhead nets, the latest adaptation in the evolving aerial conflict
A ravaged car with its engine destroyed and doors riddled with shrapnel lay on the side of the road near Dobropillia, a sleepy town not far from the front line in eastern Ukraine.
Hit by a small, remote-controlled drone, the mangled chassis was a stark reminder of why Ukraine was hurrying to mount netting over supply routes behind the sprawling front line to thwart Russian aerial attacks.
As Russia’s invasion grinds through its fourth year, Moscow and Kyiv are both menacing each other’s armies with swarms of cheap drones, easily found on the market and rigged with deadly explosives.
Agence France-Presse reporters saw Ukrainian soldiers installing green nets on four-metre (13-foot) poles spanning kilometres of road in the eastern Donetsk region, where some of the war’s most intense fighting has taken place.
“When a drone hits the net, it short-circuits and it cannot target vehicles,” said 27-year-old engineering brigade commander Denis, working under the blazing sun.