From Nets to Tunnels: Ukraine’s 93rd Brigade Turns to Underground Routes to Evade Drones

On the Kramatorsk axis, troops from Ukraine’s 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade are using underground tunnels to reach their positions.

TSN reported this in a news report.

Enemy drones are constantly overhead. The closer troops get to the front line, the more dangerous movement becomes.
Anti-drone nets over roads also fail to guarantee protection, as new enemy technologies allow drones to overcome these barriers. Under these conditions, Ukrainian troops are setting up underground routes.

Using one such route, the news crew reached the positions of drone operators who provide cover for Ukrainian infantry on this axis.

A serviceman with the call sign Omar guided the journalists. He showed them a passage with exits leading directly to the positions, allowing troops to spend less time in exposed areas.

“An excellent solution that protects our troops,” Omar said.

During filming, the drone operators struck a Russian vehicle and possibly a gun. The troops also demonstrated an FPV drone with an enlarged warhead that, they said, could disable a tractor unit or a tank.

On February 25, 2026, journalist Yuliia Kyriienko also addressed the “Vietnamization” of the front in a column for Ukrainska Pravda, describing the shift to underground routes for moving between positions in response to the drone threat. She compared this trend with the use of tunnels during the Vietnam War.

The journalist emphasized the need for protected logistics not only to deliver food and ammunition but also to evacuate wounded troops. According to her, the drone threat was forcing soldiers to dismount and cover dozens of kilometers on foot to reach their positions because traveling by vehicle was too risky.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Ukrainian Association of Developers had built a network of underground fortifications in eastern Ukraine. The system, extending two kilometers in total, includes 12 underground structures connected by passageways.

The shelters were made of corrugated steel at the request of one Defense Forces unit. Drawing on this experience, the association prepared design documentation specifying requirements for waterproofing, ventilation, camouflage, and the structures’ autonomy.