[81alum]

 ...the presence of thousands of overhead drones...

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/36a...1cf64bd375

I haven't been following the war at all.  Does Russia literally have thousands of drones in the air?  Or is that meant to be metaphorical?  If they do have a thousand drones flying around, is each one controlled individually by a soldier.   They can't be flying autonomously.  The U. S. has that capability but I doubt Russia or Iran have AI controlled drones.

I am talking not about expensive military-grade drones but drones you can buy from Amazon.  And yes, nearly all small units of soldiers on both sides have one or more of those now.  There are indeed "thousands."  Some of them have been modified to be able to drop a grenade, but mostly they are used as a cheap way of getting intelligence.  Remember in WWI the use of mirrored tubes that enabled troops to look above trenches without getting their heads blown off?  Now there are drones.  China has sold Russia more than $100 million worth of these cheap "dual use" drones since the war began.  Amazon drones (for comparison) vary from $30 to $1500.  A hundred million buys a lot of them.
https://www.politico.eu/article/china-fi...hai-h-win/

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Mines are a very old and very familiar weapon.

No doubt.  But from what various analysts have said--all far more knowledgeable than me--the quantity, depth, sophistication, and downright cheapness of mines today gives them a different order of magnitude of influence on the battlefield than in the past.  It might also be the doctrine behind their usage--their use in greater depth, and the mixture of different varieties.  Mines to stop tanks.  And mines to stop de-miners.

Interesting that you mentioned the bocage fighting before the Normandy breakout.  What if this offensive is the equivalent of bocage fighting all the way to the Sea of Azov?  Can there be a breakout when mines can be laid almost as fast as Ukrainian troops seem to move?

[81alum]

 ...the presence of thousands of overhead drones...

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/36a...1cf64bd375

I haven't been following the war at all.  Does Russia literally have thousands of drones in the air?  Or is that meant to be metaphorical?  If they do have a thousand drones flying around, is each one controlled individually by a soldier.   They can't be flying autonomously.  The U. S. has that capability but I doubt Russia or Iran have AI controlled drones.

I am talking not about expensive military-grade drones but drones you can buy from Amazon.  And yes, nearly all small units of soldiers on both sides have one or more of those now.  There are indeed "thousands."  Some of them have been modified to be able to drop a grenade, but mostly they are used as a cheap way of getting intelligence.  Remember in WWI the use of mirrored tubes that enabled troops to look above trenches without getting their heads blown off?  Now there are drones.  China has sold Russia more than $100 million worth of these cheap "dual use" drones since the war began.  Amazon drones (for comparison) vary from $30 to $1500.  A hundred million buys a lot of them.
https://www.politico.eu/article/china-fi...hai-h-win/

---

Mines are a very old and very familiar weapon.

No doubt.  But from what various analysts have said--all far more knowledgeable than me--the quantity, depth, sophistication, and downright cheapness of mines today gives them a different order of magnitude of influence on the battlefield than in the past.  It might also be the doctrine behind their usage--their use in greater depth, and the mixture of different varieties.  Mines to stop tanks.  And mines to stop de-miners.

Interesting that you mentioned the bocage fighting before the Normandy breakout.  What if this offensive is the equivalent of bocage fighting all the way to the Sea of Azov?  Can there be a breakout when mines can be laid almost as fast as Ukrainian troops seem to move?