Ukrainian drone operators disrupted NATO military exercises in Sweden — Politico

During NATO exercises in Sweden, Ukrainian troops used drones so effectively against a simulated enemy that the organizers had to restart part of the scenario several times.

This was reported by Politico.

According to a 24-year-old Ukrainian drone operator with the call sign “Tarik,” his group of 17 soldiers took part in repelling a mechanized assault.

“We had a mission with a scenario… up to 20 battle tanks attacked as part of a mechanized assault,” the soldier said.

Ukrainian drone operators quickly detected all of the simulated enemy’s equipment and began “destroying” it from the air.

“I was just flying my drone—I could see them all, so they were easy targets,” said Tarik.

Due to the effectiveness of the Ukrainian drones, the Swedish military had to restart a specific part of the exercises three times.

Politico notes that the Ukrainian military’s experience in using UAVs is increasingly influencing NATO’s approaches to modern warfare.

Ukraine is already producing its own long-range weapons, which are more effective than the limited number of TAURUS missiles that Germany could provide.

Experts have identified the most effective Western weapons for Ukraine in 2025.