Russia Continues Using Cavalry in Failed Assault, OSINT-Shared Video Reveals

Footage shared by the OSINT community shows Russian forces attempting to storm a Ukrainian position using a horse for transport, an assault that was ultimately halted by a Ukrainian drone strike, according to video published by Exilenova+ on December 22.

The video shows Russian troops advancing toward Ukrainian defensive positions, with the animal mounted by a Russian soldier. Moments later, the movement is detected from above, and a precision drone strike neutralizes the assault before the troops can reach their objective.

While unusual at first glance, the incident aligns with earlier reports indicating that Russian frontline units have increasingly relied on animals as substitutes for destroyed or unavailable military vehicles.

In addition, due to sustained losses of trucks and armored transport, Russian forces have been issued donkeys to move ammunition, supplies, and gear in contested areas where conventional logistics have become difficult or impossible.

Multiple Russian Telegram channels previously described the introduction of donkeys into frontline units, with some soldiers expressing disbelief at receiving animals instead of vehicles.

One widely shared message attributed to a Russian serviceman described the situation bluntly: “Just accept it as a fact. Don’t ask where, why, or how. I don’t know. But the fact is, they issued us a donkey.”

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War in Ukraine

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According to the same account, the animal was assigned to a support unit after transport vehicles were repeatedly destroyed. “We have issues with transport; our trucks are being destroyed. So now we have a donkey to carry ammunition. A real, living donkey,” the soldier reportedly wrote, adding that the unit’s logistics truck returned from a supply run with the animal instead of equipment.

The practice has also been publicly defended by Russian officials. Russian Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev, a member of the State Duma, previously described the use of animals for logistics as a normal response to battlefield conditions.

Speaking to Russian media earlier this year, Sobolev cited severe challenges in supplying frontline units with ammunition, equipment, and even food, arguing that any available delivery method—including donkeys and horses—was acceptable under the circumstances.

The latest footage adds visual confirmation to these reports, illustrating how Russia’s mounting equipment losses have reshaped its battlefield logistics.

Earlier, Russian troops were entering the outskirts of Pokrovsk on horseback, as heavy fighting continued around the city.

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