A Russian bus on the front line in Donetsk.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian defense ministry capture.<\/p>\n
Chinese-made golf carts. Belarusian motorcycles. Lada compact cars, bukhanka vans and antique GAZ-69 trucks<\/a>. Surplus electric scooters from Russia\u2019s thriving scooter rental industry. At least one locomotive. As Russia\u2019s stocks of armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) run low, Russian regiments and brigades in Ukraine are turning to civilian vehicles to transport troops into battle.<\/p>\n The most recent addition to this arsenal of ex-civilian vehicles, many of them up-armored with anti-drone cages, might be the most comical: a school bus.<\/p>\n On or just before Sunday, a Ukrainian drone operator spotted a yellow school bus<\/a> parked near the front line in eastern Ukraine\u2019s Donetsk Oblast, the locus of the fighting in the east.<\/p>\n The bus may have broken down. It may have gotten stuck while trying to go off-road on the soft terrain that\u2019s typical of springtime Ukraine. At least one explosive first-person-view drone barreled in, striking the bus and lighting it ablaze.<\/p>\n As a battlefield transport, a bus is less than ideal. \u201cCivilian vehicles are better than walking but will obviously not provide any protection or fire support\u201d with vehicle-mounted guns, explained analyst Jakub Janovksy. \u201cSo assaults with them instead of proper AFVs will be more costly and more likely to fail. They are also unlikely to be able to cross trenches, razor wire and other anti-infantry obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n A Russian car with add-on anti-drone armor.<\/p>\n Via Special Kherson Cat
\nLow vehicle stocks<\/p>\n