Ukraine says – Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces warn that drone operators are not protected by distance—Russian units treat them as prime targets and keep hunting them. Ukrainian commanders and analysts describe a constant cat-and-mouse struggle that drives more autonomy
For Ukraine’s drone operators, the war doesn’t feel remote.
Taras Berezovets, head of the military cooperation department of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, said drone operators “do just the same job” as other soldiers. “To say that they are doing their job in much safer conditions is completely wrong.”
Speaking at a recent drone summit in Latvia, Berezovets said Ukraine’s drone crews are “the primary targets for Russian units.” “They are trying to kill them,” he added, drawing a parallel to Ukraine’s efforts to hit Russian drone pilots.
In Berezovets’ view, the role doesn’t come with psychological exemption. “Drone operators are first of all soldiers,” he said, adding that they are subject to the same “psychological problems and traumas” as anyone else. He said he would “never consider operators differently.”
Dmytro “Liber” Zhluktenko. a former drone operator now working as a lessons-learned analyst with Ukraine’s 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment “RAID. ” disputed the idea that distance automatically makes the job safer. “It’s not like that,” he said. Operators “don’t feel they are in any less danger because they have a remote-controlled weapon.” “It’s very dangerous.”.
The danger is built into how drone warfare works. Drones are described as a crucial weapon for both Ukraine and Russia in this war, filling shortages of both weapons and manpower. Ukraine says drones are now causing 90% of Russia’s front-line losses as usage expands.
Drone pilots also act as force multipliers: one operator can launch countless drones over a deployment to scout and gather intelligence on enemy movements and targets or to launch cheap attacks on soldiers and weapon systems. including expensive gear. That is why, in the accounts collected here, the people behind the controls become priority targets.
One of the most difficult parts is proximity. Zhluktenko said, in some cases, Ukraine’s drone operators engage in small arms combat like infantry—“basically infantry with the drones.” He said it means getting close to a fight, as soldiers with other weapons do.
The people controlling Ukraine’s spy and strike drones often must move toward the front lines to preserve the connection with their drones and to work effectively with regular infantry. The work is described as physical, not virtual: they have to move, hide, and survive like other soldiers.
Soldiers and drone operators told Business Insider that Russian forces treat drone pilots as high-value targets because of the damage they can do on the battlefield. They said Russian forces have intensified attacks with missiles, bombs, and other weapons to hunt those operators. Western analysts have also been noted for rising casualties among Ukraine’s drone pilots.
An additional account underscored how relentless that hunt can be. One drone operator. speaking to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military issues. said that when the enemy spots a drone operator. “it uses every single thing at its disposal — every type of weaponry” to eliminate them. At the same time, Ukraine is targeting Russian pilots.
What Ukraine is trying to change is the distance between operator and battlefield. Ukraine is working on solutions to protect drone operators by keeping them farther from the fighting to decrease the risk. Zhluktenko and others described a shift supported by technology and tactics.
There is new remote-control technology that allows interceptor drone pilots to control their drones from hundreds of miles away from the launch point. But many drone types still require operators to stay much closer.
Zhluktenko said Ukraine wants fewer people at risk. but “that’s not always possible.” He described situations where operators are moved farther back for safety. “even if it comes at the expense of our capabilities. because these are our people and we value them so much.” He called it “a very tough balance.”.
Ukraine is also heavily pushing autonomy so drones and robots can operate with less human control. keeping soldiers farther from the fight. This is tied to a broader effort to move troops out of the most dangerous areas. including by scaling ground robots that could eventually handle front-line logistics.
Mykyta Rozhkov. chief business development officer at Ukrainian drone and weapons maker Frontline Robotics. said “the general trend is to get the pilots as far as possible” from the front line. using the absolute bare minimum of soldiers in dangerous areas when drones and robots can’t handle it alone.
But for now, drone operators remain at risk. Rozhkov said: “Russians are right now prioritizing hitting not the assault troops or soldiers;” instead, they are aiming at drone and ground robot operators.
The way this risk is taught—and practiced—also matters. Western militaries watching the war have focused on how at-risk drone pilots can be, and the US Army course designed to “catch the force up on drone warfare” is teaching soldiers what it feels like to be hunted.
Maj. Rachel Martin. the course director. previously told Business Insider that instructors deliberately use drones against students to help them understand “what it’s like to be hunted by another operator from an adversary force: what it sounds like. what it feels like. how often they need to displace in order to survive or not be observed.”.
She said that the training reflects a hard rule of survival: “the minute you’re observed. you need to move.” “What follows that is usually fires of some capacity. ” she said. such as artillery. The goal is to simulate an enemy force actively searching for them and to test reactions “so they get used to one being hunted by the enemy.”.
Berezovets said Western militaries should study Ukraine’s experience, including how heavily Russia targets drone units and command centers. He said Ukraine has to keep moving those units because “this war. especially in terms of the drone war. is like a cat-and-mouse game. The Russians are always searching for the locations of our drone units.”.
He argued allies should consider building drone command centers “deeper underground,” like Ukraine does when it can, even though it is expensive work. He said that “they should be as deep as possible.”
So even as Ukraine pushes autonomy, remote-control distance, and deeper underground command options, the central point remains stark in the accounts here: drone operators may sometimes get a few extra miles—but they are not out of the line of fire.
Ukraine Russia drone operators Territorial Defense Forces Territorial Defense drone warfare unmanned systems 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment RAID Frontline Robotics autonomy remote control technology command centers cat-and-mouse