Russia's unconventional defense: Crosses against Ukrainian drones

Russians once again surprise on the frontline. This time, videos showing them placing canopies with Orthodox crosses on their dugouts have become a real hit on the internet. Why? These unusual structures are meant to increase safety in the fight against drones.

It has already been over two and a half years since the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. During this time, the modern battlefield has repeatedly shown how rapidly the current way of conducting military operations changes. For obvious reasons, a particularly significant change has taken place in the field of technology.

The use of drones has proved crucial in this war. Although they had appeared in other conflicts before, they never gained such high popularity. A significant reason for this is an inevitable change that occurred at the beginning of the war in Ukraine when large and expensive military drones were replaced with small, modified commercial machines.

They have become a real scourge for the Russian infantry because of their low cost. Videos showing their effective attacks almost constantly appear on the internet, often demonstrating the vast experience of the Ukrainians operating them.

It's no wonder that many Russians, fearing encounters with Ukrainian drones, are looking for ways to stop them. Among these methods are throwing stones, attempting to knock them down with a stick, or using "higher powers" in the fight.

One of the latest ways to defend against drones is using Orthodox symbols. These are placed on dugouts in the form of small canopies bearing the cross, presumably to stop the Ukrainian attacks due to their resemblance to sacred objects.

Videos of these dugouts being "decorated" with such constructions are already becoming a real hit on the internet. Many people see the appearance of these crosses as also fulfilling Patriarch Cyril's latest appeal, who said that there are too few clergymen on the front.