Heavy armored vehicles have lost their relevance in modern warfare, and classic tank battles have become virtually impossible due to drones controlling the skies. Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen told Reuters about this shift.

According to tank platoon commander Valentin Bogdanov, thousands of cheap and highly accurate FPV drones operating daily along the entire front line have fundamentally overturned traditional military tactics. Reuters notes that the dominance of drones makes the movement of equipment, troop rotations, and the evacuation of the wounded смертельно опасными — extremely dangerous.

Another Ukrainian serviceman said tanks cannot move into open terrain because they immediately become targets for FPV drones. Bogdanov считает tanks an outdated type of weaponry and believes their numbers should be reduced in favor of long-range artillery. Reuters reports that the tank under his command is effectively being used in that role.

Military analyst Rob Lee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute said tanks in Ukraine are currently used mainly in urban combat and during poor weather conditions. Instead of large-scale armored assaults, forces now more often rely on attacks by small infantry groups. At the same time, he stressed that it is premature to completely write off tanks: a new technological breakthrough could restore their relevance.