I flew drones on Ukraine’s fiercest battlefield. The last few months laid bare the limits of today’s drone warfare.

• Dimko Zhluktenko is a drone operator who provides vital data to defend Ukraine’s positions.

• The sergeant was last stationed in Pokrovsk, a key battleground where Ukraine said it was outnumbered.

• He says Ukraine needs more than drones to stop Russia’s relentless advance.

This article as told is based on a conversation with Sgt. Dimko Zhluktenko, ISR drone team leader in the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces. In 2025, it was stationed near Pokrovsk, an important city that Russia said it captured in early December.

Business Insider confirmed his role in the Ukrainian armed forces. The article has been edited for length and clarity.

Before the large-scale war, I was a software engineer working for companies in San Francisco, New Zealand, and Germany.

Today I lead a team of five to six Ukrainian drone operators. Our mission is to provide reconnaissance data to our troops and commanders using high-flying unmanned aerial vehicles.

Like artillery with our intelligence HIMARS and drone strike teams can often target Russian equipment and soldiers before they can reach the front lines.

We were redeployed to the Pokrovsk region in August because the fighting there was so intense. Since UAV operators were primary targets in combat, we would spend our days-long rotations in homes and underground bunkers outside the city.

When we first arrived, the weather was sunny and ideal for flying.

However, the end of October was a complete disaster for us. Ukraine gets foggy in autumn; Thick and low clouds can rise from 100 meters to 300 meters above the ground.

These are so thick that no infrared camera or thermal camera can see inside them, leaving our kind of drones completely unflyable for days.

At the time, the Russians were taking advantage of the clouds to cover their advances on foot and by vehicles. Given the weather conditions, the number of personnel they sacrificed to capture the city, and our limited resources, there was no longer a viable way for us to defend Pokrovsk indefinitely.

Ukraine is addicted to drone warfare. It took us through these terrible and frightening times of Russian aggression and changed the face of war. For example, during the entire summer of 2025, I saw a tank on the battlefield only twice.

UAVs are cheap and effective, if we had an infinite number of UAVs we would be working 24/7 to fight the Russians in Pokrovsk.

But we don’t have endless drones, so in the meantime we need other means of attack and resources, such as more artillery fire and troops. War is complex, and drones cannot be its only solution.

flying blind

Normally, we fly our drones four times a day; each flight takes about three to four hours and sometimes lasts until late at night. It’s tiring but worth it because you can make a huge difference for the Ukrainian defenders. We can detect where Russian forces are moving, making them less of a surprise and scout for elements like air defenses and artillery for commanders to attack.

Recon drone operators like us rely heavily on visual navigation. We study Pokrovsk so closely that even if our drone is fake, we can determine our flight position based solely on the shape of the terrain or landmarks.

When the foggy season arrives, we try to make the most of the good visibility. Sometimes you get lucky and get five flights in a five-day rotation.

However, there were also days when we found ourselves sitting in a house waiting for the weather to clear.

You can try flying below the clouds, but getting lower means our big drones are easier to detect and destroy. Since our tools are limited, we try to preserve them and not use them carelessly.

However, on days with strong winds there is a chance that the clouds will part slightly to give you a view of the battlefield. Sometimes, when visibility is poor but not impossible to work with, we must risk flying in such weather, especially if our troops are defending against a major attack.

By late summer, the situation in Pokrovsk was becoming increasingly problematic both on the ground and in the sky. We used to help long-range artillery focus on the Russian rear line.

In the fall, we were working with units fighting at close range.

Russia’s cruel, simple mathematics

Around September I began to notice the impact of Russia’s tactics.

Their strategy throughout the war zone is to find our border and breach it with the fewest number of soldiers necessary to capture our positions.

This is simple math. Initially, they were going to send around 10 soldiers. If that wasn’t enough, they would send 20 of them. Then they would try 30.

They are increasing the number of soldiers and equipment every day. Their goal is to create a situation where we do not have enough drones to counter the amount of attacking infantry.

To eliminate an attack of 50 people, all dispersed, we need at least 150 drones and artillery, which is difficult to organize with our limited resources.

When we were working in Pokrovsk, there were already areas of the city where the Russians had advanced, so the battlefield was porous and undefined.

Ukraine needs more than drones

If we had more troops, we could have held out much longer and conducted more aggressive maneuvers.

If we had more reconnaissance drones, our team could fly non-stop over Pokrovsk, working despite the clouds.

With attack drones featuring more of a first-person perspective, our pilots can find and continue attacking Russians closer to the ground.

But we don’t have enough. That’s why we need other means of attack besides FPV drones, even though they account for about 80% of our deaths against Russians.

Ironically, some of these vehicles have disappeared because warfare has changed so much. Mortars could have been useful, but we mostly stopped using them; The battlefield is now so transparent that driving around in your pickup truck with mortars near the front line is a suicide mission.

What we definitely need is artillery ammunition. Some HIMARS units I worked with last year were rationed at four attacks per week.

Other artillery units were limited to only three artillery shells per day. We’ll find them a goal and they’ll say: “We don’t have anything else for today. Sorry guys.”

The weather this season means it’s still in what drone pilots call “low season.” At the same time, the terrain is not so muddy anymore, so it is the perfect time for the Russians to attack.

I’m redeploying to Dnipro this month. The fight continues.

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