A death zone 50 km wide. The new capabilities of FPV drones have made even the deep rear and front-line cities dangerous. On both sides
Along the entire front line, a death zone is apparently forming, the width of which reaches 40 kilometers or more. Moreover, this becomes a gray area for both sides — our fighters and the Russian occupiers. Frontline cities — Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia, Sumy — are also at risk. The reason for this is fiber-optic FPV drones, which are starting to fly at much greater distances.
Along the entire front line, a death zone is apparently forming, the width of which reaches 40 kilometers or more. Moreover, this becomes a gray area for both sides — our fighters and the Russian occupiers. Frontline cities — Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia, Sumy — are also at risk. The reason for this is fiber-optic FPV drones, which are starting to fly at much greater distances.
What can we do?
As the Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, recently stated , Ukrainian manufacturers of fiber-optic drones have created FPV drones with a range of over 40 km . Moreover, the range of the attack has quickly doubled. The Minister recalled that only three months ago, drones up to 20 km were tested.
It should be emphasized that only six months ago it was believed that the maximum was 5–10 km. The pace is impressive.
What about the enemy?
The enemy is undergoing the same evolutionary leap.
“Previously, we thought that the gray zone would be 10–20 kilometers. We were wrong. The gray zone may increase to 40–50 kilometers in the future. There will be more and more drones, they will fly further and further,” Yegor Firsov, the commander of the strike drone platoon of the 109th TRO brigade, recently wrote on his Facebook page.
Therefore, according to him, we need to plan the defense of cities now, taking this into account. Build underground shelters, bunkers, tunnels. Communications and movement - in tunnels , so that the enemy cannot control our logistics.
Example of a mesh tunnel (Frame from the video Public Donbas)
Risk for cities
"This gray zone, or "kill zone", unfortunately, will change. Unfortunately, all the cities of Donetsk region, Izyum, Kharkiv, Kherson, and I even think that in the suburbs of Kyiv they will also make an attempt to fly in FPV-level UAVs, relatively speaking, in some kind of aircraft FPV," he emphasized in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.
If you look at the map of the fighting, you can see that such large cities as Sumy and Zaporizhia , which are 20–30 km from the front, can become targets for FPV attacks right now. Because the enemy's technological capabilities allow it.
Screenshot from the Deep State map
Accordingly, Belgorod, as well as occupied Donetsk and Luhansk, are at risk for the occupiers.
The fact that even the deep rear has now become dangerous due to FPV is also said by servicemen. “…one of our comrades was recently killed, and the other day his comrade also died of wounds. They were caught up in a car by FPV 25 km from the front line,” writes serviceman Mykola Oliyarnyk.
Turnstile, drone analyzer, anti-drone gun — must have
Firsov emphasizes that now, along with the turnstile, every soldier must have electronic warfare equipment: "even at zero, even if you are traveling 20 kilometers from the front line. This is a necessity!"
“A drone analyzer is basically a necessity, like a toothbrush,” he writes. And an anti-drone gun is no less important than a turnstile.
"Moreover, if I had been given a choice before going to zero: a turnstile or electronic warfare with a gun, I would have chosen the latter," he emphasizes.
