Russia may be preparing to deploy motorbikes systematically in front-line assaults this summer in an effort to evade Ukrainian drones that have proven devastating against heavier armored vehicles, according to a new assessment from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Reports from Ukraine’s eastern front have long indicated that Russian forces are using civilian vehicles, including motorbikes and golf carts, to bolster assaults on Ukrainian positions. Large, slow-moving armor has increasingly become vulnerable to the hundreds of drones operating daily over active battle zones.
Now, according to ISW’s latest analysis, Moscow appears poised to “systematically integrate motorcycle usage” into its offensive operations across the battlefield through the summer and fall. The U.S.-based think tank pointed to footage released Saturday by Russia’s Defense Ministry showing paratroopers at a training ground learning to “seize strongholds on cross-country motorbikes.” The video likely featured soldiers from Russia’s 299th Paratrooper Regiment, ISW said.
The move suggests Moscow could soon issue a significant number of motorcycles to units deployed in Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry has not commented on the reports.
Ukrainian officials have also observed an uptick in motorcycle use. Lieutenant Colonel Pavlo Shamshyn, a spokesperson for Ukrainian forces in the east, told local media that Russia has been deploying motorbikes along the extensive front lines, including in the embattled Kharkiv region. He said Ukrainian intelligence indicates Russia is actively training troops to conduct assaults on motorcycles, both at training centers and within individual units.
Shamshyn described instances where Russian soldiers attached motorbikes to infantry fighting vehicles during attempts to cross the Oskil River near Dvorichna, north of Kupiansk.
The ISW noted it has “observed an increased trend of Russian units conducting mechanized and combined motorized assaults and transporting infantry with motorcycles and civilian vehicles” as commanders adapt to Ukrainian drone strikes.
Ukrainian forces, Shamshyn added, will need significantly more explosive first-person view (FPV) drones to effectively counter fast-moving motorbike units. “And they move quite quickly,” he said.
On Saturday, Ukrainian troops reported that Russian forces near the village of Bahatyr in Donetsk region attacked using motorcycle and car convoys. Ukrainian fighters claimed to have destroyed 15 of 18 motorcycles during the engagement.
Post Image – Aftermath of a failed Russian motorized assault (Post Image Credit: 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade of Ukraine).
