How Ukraine manipulated the Russian soldiers in Operation Vivaldi.

Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr had barely survived crossing a minefield and was in the sights of Russian artillery when the First Person Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (FPV) swarm began to hunt him down.

Oleksandr was part of Operation Vivaldi, which lasted until mid-October, and until recently was a top-secret counteroffensive in the Lyman Sector in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast.

In addition to liberating 277 square kilometers (107 square miles) of land and 16 villages as of October 14, the operation proved something potentially even more important—that on today's drone-saturated and largely frozen frontline, it was still possible for Ukraine's infantry to advance in significant numbers.

Photo: Lisa Bokareva / The Kyiv Independent.