Ukrainian fire-breathing drones appear around the front lines

The burning substance can melt through metal, meaning it can be incredibly damaging when used against armored vehicles. Ukrainian forces have previously used thermite munitions to destroy abandoned Russian tanks.

Footage of drones releasing molten thermite first emerged on Monday. It appeared to be the first time in wartime that drones had been used in this way and marked the latest innovation in unmanned systems.

Several reports have released video showing a drone escaping from the termite melted into a Russian-held tree line in eastern Ukraine, causing multiple fires. The attack was attributed to the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian army.

Additional footage of the tactic made the rounds on social media on Wednesday, with the Ukrainian army’s 60th Mechanized Brigade posting a video showing a drone dropping a trail of molten thermite across a tree line at night, leaving a trail of Fire.

“Strike drones are our revenge wings, bringing fire straight from the sky!” the Ukrainian military brigade wrote in a Facebook post. “They become a real threat to the enemy, burning his positions with an accuracy that no other weapon can achieve.”

The Khorne Group, an element of Ukraine’s 116th Mechanized Brigade, also shared footage showing a fiery-looking drone spewing a trail of smoke behind it and setting fire to the forest below.

The unit said it normally opposes sharing video online with new technologies, but decided to release its video anyway because termite footage is already available.

Business Insider could not immediately verify the footage.

It wasn’t clear how much damage the drones in the videos were doing to Russian forces in either case, but thermite-releasing drones appear to have relatively limited combat utility beyond attacking tree lines.

Tree lines, however, played an important role in the war, as they often separated large fields and provided concealment for Russian forces to set up their forward defenses and hide their artillery or armored vehicles.

Russia has been accused of using its own incendiary weapons, including white phosphorus, during the war.

Videos of the fire-breathing drones released this week appear to signal the latest innovation for Ukraine’s various drone programs as Kiev and Moscow remain locked in an ongoing race to develop unmanned systems.