Elite Ukrainian special operators are carrying out more infiltration missions into Russian-held territory as the drone-infested kill zone continues to grow, making larger maneuvers difficult.
Infiltration operations typically involve small groups of soldiers sneaking past enemy lines to complete a mission, which can range from taking a key position to conducting ambushes, raids, and assaults.
For Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, “the number of missions has increased over the past year,” an operator in the 4th Ranger Regiment told Business Insider in a recent interview.
The expansion of the kill zone has the Ukrainians not only executing more infiltration-style missions but also tasking operators to confront the challenges posed by similar Russian activities.
The 4th Ranger Regiment operator, who is the second-in-command of a small unit and requested to be identified only by his call sign “Gur” for security reasons, said he tends to receive “specific, targeted missions.”
“We might be tasked with destroying one particular enemy position. We go in, destroy it, and come back out,” Gur said, per a translation of his remarks. “That might take two days, four days, or a week. We don’t necessarily have to stay in the area for a fixed amount of time.”
To manage the increased tempo, Ukrainian special operators will rotate teams for these missions, allowing soldiers to rest, train, and prepare.
Ukrainian soldiers and officials often describe the front line as a “kill zone,” an area heavily saturated with drones that can quickly attack troops and military vehicles, making any movement very dangerous. Drones are responsible for roughly 90% of all battlefield strikes.
Alex Nikitenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
The kill zone varies in width across the battlefield, though it typically extends roughly 10 to 20 kilometers in either direction from the line of contact. However, Ukrainian soldiers and officials have said it is expanding, forcing commanders to make tactical adjustments.
Gur attributed the expanding kill zone to the further proliferation of first-person-view (FPV) drones — cheap quadcopters rigged with explosives to deliver precision strikes. Ukrainian infiltration missions have increased concurrently with similar Russian operations.
“They’re using our tactics as well,” the operator said. “They infiltrate in groups of two to four soldiers, and they can make their way into our rear areas. Then that becomes another task for us. We have to go in and eliminate them.”
Ukrainian soldiers said last year that Russian infiltration had become increasingly problematic during the war. The missions varied; some focused on holding positions, while others targeted key defenses. But they were largely designed to distract and cause chaos.
A senior Ukrainian defense official told Business Insider in late 2025 that small Russian infiltration teams were exploiting bad weather to sneak into Ukrainian-held territory and sow trouble. These missions are high-risk and can be deadly for those involved.
Front-line Ukrainian units don’t always have the numbers to effectively cover all the territory they hold, Gur said. So when the Russians infiltrate, his group may get assigned to handle the breach.
“Basically,” he said, “the Russians are our task.”
The expanding kill zone has also pushed Ukrainian special operators to start using ground robots for logistics closer to the front lines and to evacuate casualties, both of which have become too dangerous for soldiers with the current drone presence.
“War creates its own conditions. FPV drones appeared, so we have to react to that,” Gur said. “We have to adapt somehow if we want to survive and keep operating.”
