UKRAINIAN FRONT — Ukraine and Russia are using more drones than have ever been seen in warfare. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has won the war with drones.

Drones in Ukraine are used to hunt tanks, guide artillery, and kill soldiers in large numbers. Drone warfare in Ukraine serves primarily as a survival tactic in an ongoing attritional conflict rather than as a tool for decisive victory.

Neither side has been able to secure lasting air superiority or deliver a decisive blow with long-range fires or coordinated combined-arms offensives. The conflict in Ukraine has had no breakthroughs.

Due to heavy strain on stockpiles of traditional weaponry, drones have become more prevalent over largely static front lines. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this month that his country's drones cause 90% of Russian losses at the front.

"These have not won the war for either side," said Greg Bagwell, a retired Air Marshal and former director of joint warfare. "Is this the war we want to design to fight?"

Bagwell said that there is a lack of air control over the Ukrainian front. "If you're a soldier on the battlefield, now your world has changed irreparably," he said.

"They haven't brought victory for either side," said James Patton Rogers, a drone expert at the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute.

Ukraine and Russia have used drones at levels not previously seen in warfare. Western militaries are creating drone programs to prepare troops for changes in warfare while acknowledging that not every lesson from the war in Ukraine will be applicable.

The US Army has introduced a new drone lethality course to teach soldiers that drones are not always the appropriate weapon for certain missions. Drones are becoming increasingly affordable and accessible, and have the capacity to complicate military maneuvers.