Russians in motorcycles vs. Ukrainian drones in the front -“Motorized riflemen” in tough condition

The use of motorcycles by Russian occupiers at the front cannot be looked down upon. This statement was made by Dmitry Likhovoy, spokesman for the Operational-Strategic Group of Forces "Khortitsa" of Ukraine.

"Of course, you can approach this in the context of "necessity is the mother of invention". However, we have already seen examples more than once when the enemy tries to adapt to the realities that arise. They use ATVs, as was the case in the winter in the Tavrichesky direction. Now they use motorcycles, when weather conditions allow it," he explained.

According to him, a motorcycle gives the enemy the opportunity to gain time to get closer to the points where they can dismount and take a seat.

"How do they fight them? The first means is FPV drones. Drones are now very actively used in many manifestations. It is FPV drones, attack drones, drops, artillery and mortars that are aimed at hitting motorcyclists, even when they are detected by aerial reconnaissance somewhere else on the other side of the field. It is very important to destroy them in advance, because when they get closer, there may already be bad consequences," noted Dmitry Likhovy.

As the Russian military runs low on purpose-made armored vehicles and increasingly turns to civilian vehicles—most notably, golf carts and motorcycles—one Russian army brigade is making motorcycle instruction a routine part of its training regimen.

“The motorcycle school is real,” one Russian blogger wrote in a recent post about the 5th Donetsk Brigade, which fights in and around the town of Krasnohorivka in eastern Ukraine.

According to Forbes, the Russians began assigning large numbers of Chinese and Belarusian dirt bikes to front-line troops back in the spring. The bikes, along with Chinese Desertcross all-terrain vehicles—golf carts, effectively—are helping mitigate growing shortages of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds toward its 29th month and vehicle losses deepen.

The Russians have written off more than 16,000 armored vehicles and other heavy weapons in Ukraine. That’s more heavy equipment than many armies have in their entire inventories. The bike troops’ assault tactics are simple. They ride as fast as possible across the mine-strewn no-man’s-land separating Russian and Ukrainian lines, hoping their mounts’ small size and high speed will help them avoid detection by Ukrainian drones. If they manage to cross the mine and drone zone, they ditch their bikes and fight on foot. “A new military specialty is appearing,” a second blogger wrote. “Motorized rifleman.” But the bike tactics, while sound in theory, haven’t worked very well in the heat and stress of actual combat. Ukrainian mines and drones are everywhere—too thick in the air and under the ground for even the nimblest biker to avoid.