Fast and Furious: Russia Using Bikes to Stir Chaos in Ukraine

Russian soldiers on motorcycles first appeared as a cloud of dust on the horizon. Within seconds, they were speeding across a field, zigzagging and kicking up dirt, making a noisy and dangerous run at a Ukrainian trench. “They moved quickly, spread out, and swerved,” said Lt. Mykhailo Hubitsky, describing the Russian motorcycle attack he witnessed. This type of assault has become more common along the frontline this spring, adding a wild new element to the already chaotic fighting.

Russian soldiers are now using motorcycles, dirt bikes, quadricycles, and dune buggies for about half of all attacks in some areas of the front, according to soldiers and commanders. Moscow’s forces are using these fast vehicles to cross open spaces where their slower armored vehicles are easy targets. These unconventional vehicles have been showing up so often that some Ukrainian trenches now overlook junkyards filled with abandoned and destroyed off-road vehicles, as seen in videos from reconnaissance drones.

This new tactic is Russia’s latest adaptation for a heavily mined and constantly watched battlefield. Moscow’s forces are trying to make small tactical gains, often just a few hundred yards. The farthest Russian advance in the region is 15 miles from its starting point. “We are fighting for every meter,” said Captain Yaroslav, an artillery commander with the 80th Air Assault Brigade.

With reconnaissance drones everywhere in the skies over the Donbas, the armored vehicles of both armies are easy targets. The faster motorcycles and buggies are harder to hit with artillery, and they can swerve to avoid mines that armored vehicle operators might not see. Using cheap, disposable dirt bikes and buggies also helps conserve Russian armored vehicles.

The downside is that these vehicles offer no protection for Russian soldiers, who are exposed to machine gun fire as they approach the trenches. If they make it across a field, the riders abandon their bikes, enter the Ukrainian trench, and engage in close combat on foot. “How they find people willing to do this, I don’t know,” said Volodymyr, a Ukrainian sergeant. “Sometimes, none of them make it; sometimes, all of them do.” Despite the risks, Russian commanders continue to use this tactic. “All the tree lines,” said Sapsan, a sergeant in the 47th Brigade, “are now full of these buggies and motorcycles.”