We have described a generalized situation; in reality, the situation may vary in different areas.

Chaos

In different areas of the front line, the zone of mixed positions and chaos varies, and its boundaries are constantly changing. Somewhere, there are zigzags of trenches and dugouts. Somewhere there are ruins, charred trunks of burnt plantations, or remnants of forests. Along the roads, there are burnt-out cars, motorcycles, and armored vehicles. Here and there lie the bodies of the dead, which could not be removed because it was too dangerous. The ground is riddled with craters from explosions. All around is a mixture of stones, glass, iron, and bricks, concrete, furniture, dishes — everything that remains of the destroyed houses. There is also a lot of “war” debris: camouflage nets and pieces of wire, fragments of shells and other ammunition, packs of dry rations, and remnants of equipment.

Hundreds of meters of razor wire, less noticeable thin wire threads, fishing nets, and strands of fiber-optic cable from drones stretch out.

Assaults

They storm on foot, crawling, on motorcycles, and in armored vehicles.

The goal is to occupy our stronghold, hide in a burrow or basement, and, despite shelling and drone strikes, survive there, waiting for others to join them. Then they can move behind enemy lines to our forces or move to the next position. We are talking about a minimum number of people: five fighters is already a large group. After all, the enemy also has a shortage of soldiers.

The latest trend is to crawl along, covered by a camouflage anti-thermal imaging cloak. During the day, the occupier lies still, and at night crawls with minimal ammunition, food, and water dropped from a drone, as well as ammunition at the collection point. In a few days, they crawl across the «kill zone», then wait for others, who, upon approaching, quietly throw grenades at our position, including those with chemical substances, and attack FPV drones. FPV drone crews and mortar crews are the priority targets.

The Russians are also trying to infiltrate small infantry groups on foot or quickly fly over the “kill zone” on motorcycles, buggies, or cars. They do this under the cover of bad weather, laying out logistics routes and planning staging and rest points along routes lasting several days.

Assaults using armored vehicles are now rare because they are scarce and easily destroyed.

Burrows

In the ground, amid the ruins, craters, and rubble, there are hidden burrows where our lone fighters are holding their defenses. The enemy is trying to find and destroy them at any cost. There are very few infantrymen in Ukrainian Forces now, so their positions are scattered far apart from each other.

The most terrifying thing for infantry is drones that hover overhead and drop ammunition. The key purpose of shelters is to protect against threats from the sky.

Single burrows are hastily dug depressions in the ground, horizontal from the trench or at an angle, often under trees or bushes, with a camouflaged entrance cover. Larger burrows sometimes have an additional entrance on the side, dug in the shape of the Ukrainian letter «Г». Such shelters, measuring 2–4 square meters, can accommodate 1–3 people.

Several hundred meters of trench lines, usually dug earlier and already shelled more than once, are now mostly empty, but are used as a landscape for setting up observation posts.

The “working” sections of the trenches above are covered with camouflage and fishing nets, which catch FPV drones and drops.

It even happens that Russians set up their positions at one end of the captured chain of trenches, while Ukrainians hold positions at the other end.

In destroyed villages and towns, fighters use cellars, basements, or the remains of buildings as hiding places. As long as there is someone alive in the hole and they don't surrender, this territory is ours. The Russian army is also experiencing a shortage of personnel and is afraid to advance while one or more soldiers are sitting in the trenches.

Evacuation and rotation

Sometimes, ground drones are used for logistics and evacuation on the front lines. This type of technology is still in its early stages of development. There are many problems with ground drones. But often this is the last straw that people grab when they need to make an important delivery or pick up a wounded person.

Ideally, soldiers in these positions should be rotated every few days; however, getting into and out of position is the most challenging task at this stage of the war. Therefore, digging in depends on the circumstances and can last for dozens and dozens of days. All this time, the fighters try not to give themselves away. Even going to the toilet is difficult — they use plastic bags.

The rotation occurs as follows: pickup trucks transport the infantry 1–7 km to the burrows. Then the guys walk the rest of the way, carrying 20–40 kg of stuff: ammo, gear, water, food, and personal electronic warfare equipment.

The frontline infantry is armed with automatic rifles, light machine guns, and grenade launchers. It is almost impossible and deadly dangerous to bring a stationary machine gun or other heavy weapon to the position. And you cannot fight it, because the enemy will immediately identify and destroy the machine gun point. Either reconnaissance drones will guide artillery to it, or FPV drones or bombs will fly in. The division of positions into first and second lines, which was relevant a year or two ago, is now very arbitrary. The deeper and the more opportunities for camouflage, the more stationary machine guns, grenade launchers, and armored vehicles there are.

Logistics

It is impossible to move around in the «kill zone» during the day, and at night it becomes increasingly difficult. Any maneuvers — troop rotations, evacuations, food and ammunition deliveries, fortification of positions, mining — take place only in rain, fog, at dawn, and at dusk.

Large cargo drones deliver water, food (canned food and energy bars), communications equipment, and ammunition to infantrymen, dropping packages weighing 10–20 kg at agreed times and locations.

Enemy drones roam around, trying to find out where the deliveries are coming from and where they are going. If they spot anything, they can cover the entire area with artillery fire.

Pickup drivers and fighters use night vision devices and inconspicuous red flashlights at night. Infantrymen move around in camouflage clothing and anti-drone cloaks, which partially protect them from thermal imaging devices. In areas where enemy positions are close, they sometimes use electric cars and motorcycles, which run quietly.

Drones

Drones constantly hover in the air above the «kill zone» — both ours and the enemy's. They conduct reconnaissance, ideally operating in a "carousel" mode to constantly monitor the situation, replacing each other.

Drones are always in the air, everywhere, of various types and for multiple tasks. They fly at altitudes ranging from 100 m to 5 km. Different crews control different models. There are reconnaissance wings that hover high and scan the ground in search of targets to destroy.

FPV drones hunt people and vehicles.

New this year are fiber-optic FPV drones, which are changing the rules of the game because they are immune to electronic warfare. Once they reach the rear, they can lie in wait for a potential target. For example, they can wait for a car on the side of the road and attack it. Fiber-optic cables on the ground indicate the presence of such drones in a particular area. Birds and animals get tangled up in them and die.

Electronic warfare, nets, and anti-drone guns

Specialized electronic warfare units are constantly working on the battlefield to protect against FPV drones and counter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) reconnaissance. They create networks for detecting and suppressing enemy drones with radio-electronic means and coordinate the operations of friendly UAVs. Nets also shoot down enemy FPVs dropped from other drones or rammed.

Infantrymen try to hit FPVs with shotguns specially purchased for this purpose. Individual electronic warfare equipment is now a mandatory element of every group. Anti-drone guns are also used, which drive away small drones with radio interference. Electronic warfare equipment is also installed on vehicles.

However, not all electronic warfare devices guarantee protection, as drone frequencies are constantly changing. Another problem is the power source. The more spare batteries a soldier can carry to their position, the longer their electronic warfare device will work.

Drone pilots try to circumvent electronic warfare, while those responsible for electronic warfare try to "catch" drone frequencies. Units providing electronic warfare are usually located several kilometers behind the combat zone.

Mines

Our forces are mining potential infiltration routes. The Russians are also mining, but to cut us off from our bases.

Mining is done in various ways: manually, using ground drones and UAVs, as well as artillery. The latest trend is fiber optic drones that “sit” on the ground and wait for someone to walk or drive by. Our forces destroy them with skids and FPV drones.

Rocket artillery, positioned away from the drone strike zone, remotely mines the area with cluster munitions. We often lack such capabilities.

Sappers usually work in bad weather, at dawn or dusk, when FPV drone operators have poor visibility of the terrain. In the case of manual mining, mines are often disguised as pieces of clothing, rubbish, or other items. We know of a case where Russians camouflaged a mine with a dead hare carcass. In addition to mines, drones also drop barbed wire, nets, and other obstacles.

Defense

Repelling enemy assaults is the result of daily coordinated work by an entire brigade or battalion. Scouts monitor the battlefield around the clock, analyze enemy actions, and indicate possible routes of attack.

Engineers mine and block them with obstacles. Once the enemy is detected, they begin to destroy it with artillery, drones, and small arms. The sooner the scouts manage to detect the enemy, the more time there will be to destroy it.

The task of our forces is to prevent the enemy from getting within rifle range of the burrow. To do this, enemy assault groups are searched for from the air and, as soon as they are spotted, destroyed with artillery, mortars, grenades, and FPV drones. However, the occupiers, taking advantage of the lack of people and resources, send in more and more groups, and some of them manage to get through.

The enemy's direct presence near the infantryman's positions is a failure of the command's defensive organization. The success of defense and repelling assaults depends on a sufficient number of people, drones, and ammunition for artillery and mortars, as well as on the experience, skill, and coordination of UAV and artillery units.

Providing all of this and organizing personnel training is also the direct responsibility of commanders. The better the officers perform, the more successful and effective the unit will be in combat.