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205th battalion of the Territorial Defense Brigade of Ukraine/Telegram
- Ukrainian ‘dragon drones’ are setting Russian positions ablaze with thermite.
- Footage shows drones dropping fire on treelines, causing large blazes in multiple regions.
- The tactic aims to cause severe burns, terrorize troops, and has raised human rights concerns.
A Ukrainian battalion shared nighttime footage of one of its “dragon drones” breathing fire on a Russian position in Ukraine, setting a line of trees ablaze.
In the footage, shared on Telegram on Sunday by the 205th battalion of the Territorial Defense Forces, a bright, glowing light is seen moving in the dark over a long treeline, dropping fire as it goes.
Underneath, patches of flames spring up.
The battalion, which did not disclose the location of the video, said it was a joint effort with the 241st TDF battalion and the 92nd Assault Brigade against Russian “Orcs”.
The footage likely shows a drone dropping thermite, a deadly mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide that, when ignited, can burn at temperatures of up to 4,000 degrees.
The UAVs have earned the nickname “dragon drones.”
A second video, posted by the popular X account @Osinttechnical, purports to show the view of the aftermath of the attack from the Ukrainian operations room.
In the footage, both thermal imaging and normal screens show the scale of the attack.
Ukraine appears to have deployed the dragon-drone tactic in multiple locations since early September.
Open-source researchers have spotted its use in Zaporizhzhia, in Ukraine’s southeast, in eastern Donetsk, as well as at least once in Kursk, in western Russia, Deutsche Welle reported.
However, news reports suggest Russia may also have produced its own version of the “dragon drone,” DW reported.
Ukraine’s operational goals with the tactic are still unclear, but it’s considered highly effective at two main things: causing severe burns and unleashing terror among enemy troops.
James Patton Rogers, a drone expert and executive director of the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute, told Business Insider this month that the tactic can force a retreat.
“The ubiquitous use of drones in the skies above the battlefield are terrifying enough, but those below now have to contend with the quite literal threat of molten metal and fire raining down from above,” he said.
Despite this, Patton Rogers suggested that the “actual strategic impact of the ‘dragons’ will be minimal.”
The recent videos have caused alarm among some human rights campaigners, including the group Action on Armed Violence, which recently wrote about fears that the substance’s use could spread to civilian areas.
Thermite is permitted for use on enemy troops but its use on civilian targets is banned.
