Now Ukrainian Drones Are Taking Out The Riders (But Not The Horses) Of Russian Cavalry, What Century Am I In?

Coming into the year 2026, Ukrainian drone operators are getting better at taking out Russian horse cavalry, and yes that is a real sentence. Over the last few weeks, the invading army appears to be experimenting with new forms of assault, given that its advance has slowed to a crawl. Large-wave attacks were neutralized by NATO-made heavy artillery, and motorized transports have been torn apart by kamikaze drones and land mines. That led to individual soldiers trying to rush across no-man's land on foot, but drones made short work of them. What's left to try but returning to the 19^th century?

In strict military terms, what the Russians are deploying are probably closer to dragoons than proper cavalry. As with earlier ATV assaults, this is just old-fashioned Russian infantry using a vehicle to move around quickly before jumping off and fighting on foot. It speaks volumes that they've gotten to this point: the invaders must be desperate for spare parts, forcing them to turn to animals. That's an indicator of general economic deterioration. However, as the Telegraph points out, horses are not made of metal, a tactical advantage against magnetic land mines.

That's not to say these horses aren't hi-tech! The Russians have outfitted their horses with Starlink terminals, and yes that is also a real sentence. The Kyiv Post reports soldiers throwing a rig together, including a dish and a console. As the article notes, SpaceX is supposedly not doing business with Russia, but workarounds grant the soldiers access. Russian military expert Samuel Bendett told Forbes that this all looks like ad hoc improvisation by individual units in the field, rather than a coordinated doctrine from Moscow.

As always, the actual horses don't have much say in the matter and don't know what's going on. The Ukrainians apparently didn't want to kill the quadrupedal conscripts, which required a change in tactics. Normally, the kamikaze drones would just dive-bomb the soldier on the vehicle, taking out both. To save the poor horse, operators now buzz the equine to spook it, throwing off the rider. The drone the circles back to strike the dismounted soldier. That's battlefield empathy for you. The video above shows an example.

The whole thing is an example of opposing forces experimenting and adapting to one another, something that Russia and Ukraine have been doing since the invasion began. Drone warfare in particular is being tested in this war, with new tactics popping up all the time. The U.S. military has taken note and is actively trying to pivot to smaller, cheaper platforms itself. As the world adapts to this new form of conflict, expect more innovations and counter-innovations to appear, both in technology and doctrine. Even satellite-equipped dragoons, apparently. When the infantry starts forming squares, you know it's getting dire.