The war in Ukraine has long surpassed the boundaries of conventional combat. Technology—especially drones—has taken center stage, transforming tactics, operational routines, threat perception, and, crucially, the psychological state of soldiers. Today, drones are not just a tool of destruction, but a systematic weapon of psychological warfare.
At the international Drone Summit 2025 in Latvia, U.S. Army veteran Carl Larson, who previously served in Ukraine’s International Legion, offered a grim assessment: “The mass deployment of drones has been a horrendous blow to soldiers’ morale.” His comments echo the growing concerns expressed by Ukrainian and Western experts alike.
Death from above
One of the defining features of next-generation drones is their near-total lack of visual and audio signature. Fiber-optic drones, widely used by both sides in the conflict, travel at over 100 miles per hour, are immune to radio jamming, and allow almost no time to react. Larson described comrades who died “under a clear blue sky, without a sound, without warning—just a flash, and they were gone.”
This unpredictability shatters any sense of control. Soldiers can no longer assume their trench is safe or that daylight offers respite. The constant presence of aerial threats is as mentally exhausting as it is lethal—more than traditional shelling, it breeds a state of prolonged psychological tension.
Static front: a fear that paralyzes
Frontline troops in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) increasingly avoid leaving shelter during daylight. Simple tasks like fetching water, rotating posts, or evacuating the wounded become life-threatening. As a result, established tactics break down, medical logistics collapse, and a deep sense of guilt emerges among soldiers who feel helpless to aid their comrades.
This is not just a breakdown in battlefield logistics—it erodes the moral fabric of the unit: mutual support, trust, and the belief that no one is left behind. Soldiers begin to see themselves as disposable and unsupported.
The end of the “golden hour”
Modern battlefield medicine relies heavily on the “golden hour”—the first 60 minutes after an injury, when a wounded soldier has the highest chance of survival. Drone warfare has essentially nullified this principle: evacuating the wounded from exposed areas is often impossible, as any movement can attract deadly attention from above.
Even when resources are available, medics often cannot reach the injured in time. This imposes a devastating moral burden—not just on command, but on those who survive and are forced to witness the helplessness.
Psychological warfare in the skies
Military psychologists are identifying a new phenomenon: constant combat stress induced by drones. Symptoms include anxiety, insomnia, cognitive disorientation, depression, and even suicidal ideation. Soldiers live in a heightened state of alertness that gradually deteriorates their mental resilience.
Experts liken this to the “shell shock” of World War I. But while artillery had rhythm and direction, today’s aerial threat is ever-present, invisible, and silent—producing an unrelenting psychological siege.
Tactical responses are too slow
The Ukrainian military is working to adapt: deploying decoy positions, strengthening electronic warfare systems, testing automatic detection tools, and even experimenting with laser countermeasures. However, these responses lag behind the pace at which the drone threat evolves.
Compounding the problem is the shortage of Western arms support, which has led Ukraine to depend more heavily on domestically produced drones. Ironically, this adds to the density of drone presence on the battlefield from both sides.
Human cost: what comes after the war
Larson emphasized that one of the greatest long-term challenges is not just protecting soldiers during combat but supporting them after. Several volunteer initiatives now focus on addressing PTSD, job placement, and physical rehabilitation. But the scale of the problem is enormous. An entire generation of fighters exposed to constant aerial threat may carry the psychological scars for life.
Drones have irreversibly transformed modern warfare. They’ve made it more technical, remote, and precise—yet also more psychologically damaging than perhaps any previous conflict. For Ukrainian troops, surviving the battlefield now depends not just on armor or logistics, but on maintaining psychological stability under constant threat from above.
Until a comprehensive system of protection—technical, tactical, and psychological—is developed, even the most motivated army may risk being broken not by bullets or bombs, but by fear itself.
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