Europe | The transparent battlefield

The added dangers of fighting in Ukraine when everything is visible

There is no more fog of war

 A Ukrainian servicewoman in a VR set operates an FPV drone in Kyiv, Ukraine
We see youPhotograph: Getty Images
|KYIV

For centuries the “fog of war”, the inability to see through the confusion of combat, has been a given. No longer. The front lines in the war between Russia and Ukraine are now saturated with surveillance drones livestreaming video footage in real time. Everyone can see pretty much everything. Armies are having to work out how to fight on what is being called the transparent battlefield.

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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The transparent battlefield”

From the February 8th 2025 edition

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