Ukraine Replacing Snipers With Drones in War Against Russia

The article notes that small explosive drones are increasingly dominating Ukraine's battlefield, taking over roles once handled by snipers, including reconnaissance and targeted strikes. Kovalskiy now works with a military counterintelligence unit of Ukraine's SBU, helping drone operators with equipment and navigation. Drones offer wider visual range, quicker strike capability, and the ability to carry explosives, diminishing the importance of artillery spotters and making tanks common aerial targets. Some officials maintain snipers still have value in infantry operations and in certain weather conditions. A Pentagon spokesperson stated that the US Army continues sniper training and updates programs to account for drones, emphasizing that the human sniper remains a critical, unjammable, zero-signature asset on the modern battlefield. A Ukrainian sniper commander, call sign Coyote, also said snipers remain useful for certain tasks behind Ukrainian lines and in challenging conditions.

During several deployments in 2024, Kovalskiy reportedly failed to register a confirmed hit as Russian troops adapted to the growing drone threat by improving camouflage and concealment tactics. He later spent more time assisting drone teams and transporting equipment.

Vyacheslav Kovalskiy, a Ukrainian special forces sniper, reportedly hit a Russian officer from nearly 2.5 miles away, a claim described as a world-record shot and later framed as part of a broader battlefield shift toward drone use.

A Ukrainian sniper with the call sign Ivanhoe described that in 2022, sniper teams detected enemy movement from long distances and relayed coordinates for artillery strikes, a process that could take several minutes.