Key updates from the Ukrainian front lines
At our most recent Ukraine Briefing, Spirit of America’s Europe team shared insightful updates from the frontlines, gave their perspectives on the new dynamic of the war, and showed examples of how Spirit of America’s assistance is saving lives and helping to move the needle on the battlefield. Here’s a summary of the highlights:
Key takeaways from the current battlefield landscape
“Right now, it’s Russian mass against Ukrainian ingenuity.”
– Matt Dimmick, Europe Program Manager
Former National Security Council Russia Director
Over 930 days into the war, Ukraine continues to valiantly fight and defend its territory. The fighting remains violent and brutal, spanning over 700 miles of frontlines in the Eastern part of Ukraine. At this stage, the Russian army has devolved to relying strictly on sheer mass – thanks in large part to its stable recruiting and conscription pipeline – but is making only incremental gains at significant cost. Russian strategy also incorporates brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure such as power plants, hospitals, and schools to disrupt everyday life and inflict pain on the Ukrainian people.
With Ukraine’s recent advance into the Kursk region of southwest Russia, the Ukrainians have “shown a flash of strategic capability and operational capability that was not expected, and nobody saw coming… [which] speaks volumes for what they could potentially do in the future,” Matt said during the briefing. However, Ukraine must overcome the challenge of defeating an immense Russian Army that is focused on waging a persistent attritional campaign indefinitely due to its sustainable manpower advantage. For Ukraine to gain ground against Russian forces that outnumber and outgun them, they must continue finding ways to fight smarter by making every bullet and artillery shell count and preserving as many soldiers as possible.
Spirit of America’s role in helping Ukraine win with ingenuity and innovation
Spirit of America’s speed and flexibility continues to help Ukrainians push the envelope with ingenuity and innovation on the battlefield. After the need for counter-drone tools was identified to us by our US Special Operations partners, Spirit of America provided 10 drone jammers to an elite Ukrainian Special Forces unit. This handheld piece of equipment disrupts Russian drones by emitting powerful electromagnetic signals, disabling the drone. Drone jammers are particularly important in hampering Russian reconnaissance and targeting efforts, protecting Ukrainian troops and saving lives.
Members of an elite unit that recently fought near the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk told us that the drone jammers Spirit of America provided “were incredibly efficient against commercial off-the-shelf drones that the Russians were flying…[and] more importantly, these drone jammers were effectively jamming and disabling Russian Orlan drones and Lancet drones.”
The 10 drone jammers we provided are the only drone jammers in Ukraine and opens the door for more that are needed. More than a dozen allied governments and NGOs spent two years attempting to deliver the same equipment but were stymied by regulation and bureaucracy.
“A $75,000 drone jammer can protect an $11 million Leopard II tank.”
– Colleen Denny, Europe Director
Spirit of America is also testing and piloting new ideas. When our US Special Operations Command partners identified a need for an experimental radio retransmission site, we provided the equipment to set it up. This technology shifts radio emissions away from Ukrainian drone operators and nearly doubles the effective range of drones. This reduces radio detection and the direction-finding capabilities of Russian forces to find Ukrainian drone operators.
The experimental radio retransmission site just one example of dozens of ideas that Spirit of America is helping to pilot and test to help increase the effectiveness and the survivability of Ukrainian forces. In this stage of the war, the Ukrainians need to fight smarter to defeat Russia and preserve their homeland.
What is needed now?
Urgent needs include several hundred more drone jammers and surveillance drones, unmanned ground vehicles, vehicles such as 4×4 pickup trucks and cargo vans to serve as field ambulances, and force protection gear such as night vision goggles that can help increase the survivability of Ukrainian soldiers.
“I’ve served in muddy foxholes and at the highest levels of government.
Believe me, with the growing challenges and adversaries we face, Spirit of America’s capability is exactly what we need.”
– General Jim Mattis
US Marine Corps, Retired
Former US Secretary of Defense
Thank you for United we can save lives, protect freedom and democracy, and help Ukraine win.
