Russian Troops' 'Huge-Ass Stupid' Thermal Blankets Backfired—And Got Them Killed

Instead of hiding the Russians from drones, the blankets gave them away

A trio of Russian troops tried to sneak across open terrain toward the front line presumably somewhere around Novomykolaivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast recently.

The Russians did the smart thing and moved at night, under thermal camouflage that should—in theory—hide them from surveillance drones with infrared sensors. But the Russians made one predictable and fatal mistake: they hid under thermal blankets that were cooler than the surrounding summertime terrain was.

Instead of disappearing from Ukrainian drones’ heat sensors, they stood out. A bomber drone from the Ukrainian army’s 59th Assault Brigade spotted them—and approached with a clutch of grenades. (See video above.)

The Russians knew they were in trouble. They apparently heard the drone coming, crouched in place and pulled their blankets tightly over them.

But it didn’t help.