A Ukrainian drone pilot finds hidden Russian weapons, only to find them full of horses and old cars

• A Ukrainian drone pilot told Business Insider how he found the Russian weapons in Horse and Lada.

• Russia is increasingly using unconventional transportation such as horses or bicycles.

• The pilot’s commander said it was a sign of how Russia fights and calculates its losses differently.

Cosmo floated his quadcopter over the wrecked warehouse, to a corner of the roof where a hole was formed by falling sheets of shattered metal.

The drone pilot’s unit, the Wild Division, suspected the building was a logistics center for Russian troops about 15 kilometers, or about 9 miles, from the line of contact in southern Ukraine. These hidden locations often housed weapons or fuel caches, and Cosmos’ fiber-optic drone was armed with explosives to destroy them.

Yet inside, the drone panned its camera to reveal what appeared to be a farmer’s garage: four civilian cars, a pair of motorcycles, and two bridled horses.

“We didn’t expect to see this. It was unusual,” Kosmos told Business Insider, speaking on condition that he be identified only by his call sign.

“We expected to find some armored vehicles,” he added.

Video of the discovery went viral in Ukraine last week, as the war has seen Russian soldiers use unconventional transport equipment such as pack animals and bicycles to carry out assault or logistics missions. Kosmos said his drone mission was conducted in early February.

The small profile of a horse or civilian car can be difficult for drones to spot, although Russia’s frequent use has raised questions about the viability of its strategy and whether it is producing enough military equipment to sustain its attacks.

Cosmic’s teammates and officers in the Wild Division, a first-person-view drone company in the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, had previously seen clips of Russian soldiers riding horses to attack Ukrainian positions.

A famous example they remember was in Zaporizhzhia, when a Ukrainian drone crew attacked Russian infantry while crossing the front lines on horseback last month.

Kosmos, who has been piloting drones for a year, said it was the first time he had personally seen animals on the front lines.

He said his explosives-laden drone flew directly into the back of a car, and his crew later rammed into several other vehicles. As Russian forces moved their transport assets, the Wild Division found another warehouse and attacked it as well, Kosmos said.

“Enemies usually hide near these places,” Kosmos said of the warehouse. “It’s normal for us to check all targets. Sometimes we can see enemy infantry, or you can see their vehicles.”

Russia calculates the war differently

The Wilde division declined to say where the warehouse was located, but said its brigade is normally deployed in Donbas.

The commander of the battalion in the universe told Business Insider that the discovery of the horses surprised even him.

“I thought it was a place for transport vehicles, as a transfer hub,” said the chief, whose call sign is Fitzruk.

The appearance of horses and cars in Fizruk’s front line may be a sign that Russian forces are running low on standard resources, but it also reflects Moscow’s fighting nature.

The cars spotted by Cosmos appear to be affordable civilian off-road vehicles from Nivas, the Russian Lada car brand.

“They treat them like they’re going to be a loss anyway, they’re going to be destroyed anyway,” he said. “Look, a Niva costs, let’s say, $2,000. A Hummer used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in many places costs $20,000, maybe more.”

“Since they lost their equipment in the attack, from that point of view, why pay $20,000 for a vehicle if you can buy 10 residences for $20,000?” Fizruk added.

The Kremlin has been known to pressure the front line with frequent ground attacks, sending small groups of infantry to reach Ukrainian positions on foot or in cheap vehicles. The strategy has been costly, with NATO now claiming 25,000 Russian military deaths each month.

Maintaining that style of warfare has pushed Moscow into informal means of recruitment and arms procurement, including recruiting troops from abroad and obtaining ammunition from North Korea.

Read the original article on Business Insider