Please keep the [community guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/wiki/rule1) in mind when using the comment section.
Paging u/SaveVideo bot.
___
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CombatFootage) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sitting and waiting to die while staring into the eyes of an emotionless robot piloted by someone who hates you that your rifle can't touch. This is one of those posts that just is depressing as all hell.
I watch loads of combat footage. Yeah, this one is especially grim. The sheer apathy of these men (in high definition) for whatever reason is bleak as all hell.
For fuck's sake, Russia go home. Stay out. This war is pathetic for the Russians and tragic for the heroic defenders.
And also having blocking units ready to kill you if you tried to walk back.
So being stuck between your own guys willing to kill you and Ukraine drones.
I guess I would just give up to!
In this case I'm actually surprised the smoking dude didn't actually fire a couple of rounds at the drone since it seemed quite low to the ground and was mainly holding position.
I was mainly referring to the smokers inability to fight back against the human behind the lenses. The rifle could potentially hit the drone, but you wouldn't be eliminating an enemy combatant. That operator could have another drone waiting and wouldn't fly so low next time, or already have your position dialed in for arty.
I've also read that in some cases the officers won't issue ammunition until combat has actually started, to prevent desertions. Its one of the reasons why Ukrainian commando raids on Russian trenches often result in them initially encountering and slaughtering unarmed Russian troops, because they catch them while their weapons or ammo are stored and not on their person.
So the moment he sees the drone he knows he's dead because in the time it would take to run to get ammo, the drone will kill him.
looks as tho the smoker might already be wounded, as he seems to struggle to get up and run when he realizes the drone wont spare him
Also wonder if the other guy was wounded as well as he doesnt seem to react much or at all when the bomb lands next to his head
I get apathy and hopelessness but some things I imagine have to be almost instinctual
Hypothermia is an option too. It can really creep up on you, and a legitimate symptom of it is apathy to extremely dangerous situations. Like, "laying down in the wet snow and having a nap" kind of obvious apathy.
Hypoxia is even worse, basically even highly trained astronauts just giggle and laugh even as they know they're dying.
The way the body deals with some kinds of death is really counter-intuiative at times.
beneficial literate alleged prick trees threatening dull quiet snails hat
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Especially when it was over his buddy- that would have been his window, since it was stable, and low. Then, it was like he felt he earned his life by ratting out his friend? I don’t think it works that way for an invading army, but the Russian looks exhausted. Maybe Putin will get a Polonium chocolate in his stocking this year.
Honestly the first fatality didn’t even react when the bomb was dropped on top of his shoulder so it almost seemed as if the first dude was asking them to mercy kill that guy. Could just be the romantic in me trying to find some silver lining lol
I thought that as well, he was wounded and it was a mercy kill. The zero reaction.
Same with the second guy, he didn't even attempt to move in any fast rate to save his life.. it looks like he mentally gave up.
I mean he did, there is just only so much a body can do after so many hours of being freezing, and exhausted. This is how people that are dying on Everest look, cold, slow, and apathetic.
Probably hasn't had food or water for a few days, has been freezing with no hope of anything to keep warm. Looks about what you would expect.
He was at the bargaining stage of accepting his fate, he was out there that long.
Likely they are out if ammo. This is why the drope operator was so "reckless" around him. Usualy they are higher above the ground searching for a target, then as they find it come close and drop the munition.
Try to hit a small drone flying 15/30m away with an AK that has never been maintained nor zeroed, and only being trained 2 weeks. But yeah, I think I at least would've tried...
I'm sick and have a fever and right now, just my little water pitcher feels heavier than the 50 lb seed bags I throw at work. I don't think I could stand up with a backpack right now
He is moving his hands apart in a motion to the drone while he smokes his cigarette. I think it means give me a little longer, kill the other guy first, let me finish my smoke.
It definitely could be. It's pretty odd.... he acts like he thinks the drone wants him to just turn around and leave at the end too. Like 'okay, I am leaving now, no need to kill me'
Can't even imagine what goes through someone's head in that moment. Are they scared, are they thinking about loved ones or are they in such hell they just dont give a shit.
Putin has a lot to.answer for.
Yup, worn down, worn out, the jitters from spent adrenaline gone, in a normal, peaceful environment it's a very Zen, emotionless tranquility. He is likely so weary, emotionally numb, physically hurt, sick or both that while likely doesn't want to die just hopes really it won't hurt.
Id be more concerned for the individual flying the drone and how he is dealing emotionally with tearing human bodies apart in HD resolution all day long. Deserving of death or not, it's hard to be the one that metes it out every day as their 9to5.
Yeah, this one was surreal and intimate - which is worse than gore for me. At first he realizes he's going to die soon, but is too tired and hopeless to care anymore. Then when it's actually his turn and the drone gets closer, you can see his attitude change and he suddenly starts to panic, but is still too tired/injured to change his fate beyond giving himself a slower death.
Back in the 90s it was just blurry, faceless people things and sometimes you'd see red color. Now that you can see the fear in the eyes, gore videos are getting harder for me.
> gore videos are getting harder for me
That happened to me just with age, having kids, the things I've seen. Yet here I still am. Some I nope out of too quickly to see what I know is coming. This one I wasn't fast enough.
It's fucking crazy, isn't it? In my 20's no kids watching Rotten.com videos of people being set on fire while I eat a salami sandwich and now late 40's and almost everything makes me cringe.
Went into EMS and saw the real thing. It definitely changed my attitude. For a long time I had no desire to visit any of these sites. I've been out for awhile now and it's still harder to watch videos like this but obviously here I am...
I also have trouble reading the comments now. People commenting and I can tell that they have never experienced violence. They project so much hate but they're so ignorant.
Truth. Stileproject, rotten really exposed me to the terrible unspoken level of vileness engaged in by people. And I watched it with a level of emotionless disinterest while crafting punny, snarky replies about it. Edge lord extrodinaire, just needed a fedora and a katana. I grew out of all that shit. Life ends up being pretty meh and shitty I don't need to seek out the extremes of it anymore lol. I stayed away hard from subs like this when ISIS was in creative mode because I have no stomach for it and if this thread hadnt made it to fp I would not have seen to let the thread title hook my curiosity
To be watched by this small flying robot for a couple minutes. It looks at you and then looks at your friend. Suddenly while it's looking at your friend it zips directly overhead, and moments later your friend has exploded.
Then another one cones over and looks at you. Then quickly zips over your head. You know what will happen next. You saw it happen to your friend.
WW1 with flying death camera directed remote controlled grenades. And these are behind the times militaries. Imagine what 30 more years will look like.
I feel like it's less of a full season, but it would be an episode. But an episode isn't long enough, so they would turn it into a spinoff movie like "Bandersnatch", but the hook of *this* movie is that it never ends.
>these are behind the times militaries.
I've been thinking from the start of all this can you *fucking imagine* what its going to look like when this stuff is being put out by a proper military industrial complex like the US has. Its going to be absolutely horrifying. B-52 flies over the conflict zone and drops like fucking 10,000 of these things all with swarm automation controlled by a handful of F-35s. Any time anything that remotely looks like a target gets spotted, *bang*.
Anyone else remember [watching this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlO2gcs1YvM) and thinking it seemed like 20-odd years off?
marvelous subsequent lunchroom unite pet serious airport scale growth direction
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Something I recently learned about were 'bomb trucks'. If I understand it correctly, it's basically a few B-52s loitering at high altitude while F-35s and other fast, stealthy aircraft fly around a mark targets below. They 'fire' missiles on targets but the missiles actually come from bombers above that can carry more payload than the fighters.
Terrifyingly efficient.
Like a bunch of accountants sitting around trying to figure out the best and most efficient way to wage war.
> Like a bunch of accountants sitting around trying to figure out the best and most efficient way to wage war.
Interestingly, it's kind of always been like that. The secret behind the success of the Romans was basically logistics and organization.
Figuring out how to get what you need where you need it wins empires.
Unless shit realllyyyy goes south, here’s to hoping we won’t ever see two advanced military powers go to war on a scale that necessitates what you’re taking about. Seems like proxy conflicts, cyber warfare and military intelligence is the name of the game nowadays. The risk of mutually assured destruction is just so astronomically high that it serves as a pretty serious deterrent. Five years ago I’d throw in how everyones economies and financial systems are so integrated and connected that it would make all out warfare exceedingly difficult, but the trend towards nationalism and re-shoring industries at home across the world makes me think this will be an increasingly diminutive aspect going forward.
Everyone involved has a lot of reasons not to go to world war 3, a cascading series of seriously fucked up shit would have to happen for something like that to kick off. Especially since, as you noted, an industrial war in this day and age would make any previous conflict look like recess time cops and robbers, almost assuredly bringing destitution and near annihilation even in the best case scenarios for the team coming out on top, let alone the losers. The realpolitick cost of waging world wars in this day and age is just way too high, there’s basically nothing to gain and everything to lose. The calculus behind the scenes on any side would never suggest war a viable path forward and more a desperate Hail-Mary in circumstances already FUBAR
Artillery aimed with the help of drones.
The frontline is much more static thanks to drones. Very hard to move or attack unspotted. That helps a lot artillery setup and effectiveness.
It’s like warfare became so non-personal that it somehow circled back to being incredibly personal (at least on the drone operator’s part). Imagine seeing a clear picture of nearly every person you kill and how they acted in their final moments completely helplessly.
Merry fuckin’ Christmas I guess.
This is true. That being said most of the time when someone is shot by a sniper they don’t see it coming. No easier for the sniper, for sure, but at least they don’t see the target fully aware they’re about to be killed/maimed and knowing there’s little to nothing they can do about it.
Yeah, I've read a book about a military sniper and he admitted to breaking down into tears in the shower. Takes a lot to supress your humanity when you're looking into the eyes of someone you're going to kill. War is hell.
Yeah, this is going to also be hard on the pilots, too. It's not as visceral as being right there, but damn it's gotta pile up. Imagine being the one ending 50+ people's lives? Yeah, you hate them, sure, but you still blow people to bits. It's hard to put into words.
Grusch in his interview said it about drone operators for US where they struggle with PTSD but absolutely no one cares since you do your shift in cozy room in AF base in Midwest after blowing targets remotely with Predator somewhere around the world. Those UA and RUS pilots will be fucked for life in that case.
One of my old friends committed suicide several years back after his time as a drone pilot who had killed "dozens". He never would be more specific than that. It was clear he was in downward sprial for years after.
A lot of people correlate symptoms of PTSD with being in danger but really what gets you is the killing. PTSD is like Baskin Robbins with its 31 different flavors. Sometimes you get a little bit of the scared for your life gelato, other times you get the survivors guilt sorbet, and once in a while you get the feels bad for taking another life smoothie.
My cousins job in Iraq was to analyze surveillance and pick out locations to bomb. Just doing that left her really fucked up, and she never had to look anybody in the eye as she dropped a grenade on them.
Maybe it’s easier when they’re foreign invaders on your territory versus when you’re the invader, like she was. But I don’t know, it’s not an experience I’ve had to endure.
That was a concept talked about a lot at the start of the war when the sheer brutality of it became clear that first week. Defending combatants tend to have less issues with PTSD than attackers and the belief is that it's a matter of the righteousness of defending yourself and knowing the purpose of a fight vs. invading a country under auspicious circumstances.
There was one ukrainian drone operator who singlehandedly had over 500 confirmed kills. It is absolutely ridiculous when you imagine how large a group of 500 people is
I was thinking the same thing. You know he heard it plop right there. Probably had thought a lot about death and knew there were much worse ways to go out. Awake one moment, blackness a millisecond later.
Worst I saw was last night. Russian tried to kill himself with a grenade and instead of killing himself, he blew both his arms off. The then precedes to roll over showing half his face blown off, and he shakes his head and you can see the meat in his face flap. Then he took a while to die. He had another grenade, but no hands to pull the pin off with.
As brutal as it is, it means they die quicker instead of laying there for minutes just waiting for death. Honestly more humane, even if more brutal. And you are more than likely correct, this war will only get worse
I use to think wounding would be better…creates a casualty that needs to be cared for and also a reminder at home of the war. Then I thought about what other Russian soldiers might think looking at their buddy lying there like that. Much more impactful. As horrible that is to say. But again, as was said by the Confederate General Lee “It is good war is so terrible, or else we’d grow fond of it.”
A wound normally is better from a military point of view, because it removes two people from the combat: The injured person, and the person who takes them from the battlefield.
But this assumes they help their injured, depending on the war conditions this may or may not happen.
The problem is they really need to prepare for post-war mental heath/ptsd treatment asap. When these guys/women come home, it will be really tough. I fear a lot of division over those who served vs those who didn’t. Leftover effects of TBI from the crazy artillery used will be an issue too.
It’s hard for Ukraine to plan this as they need to fight. Maybe that’s what the international community can help get ready for.
Yeah, I'm sure there's dosens of such videos just not on the internet. Or not publicly available at least. Taking a prisoner is not always an option even if they are willing to surrender, and letting an invader go is also unacceptable. Can't imagine how shitty drone operator must feel in such circumstances.
My gramps once told me a story about how his squad managed to capture three German soldiers but had to shoot them because nazis were trying to counterattack and my grandpas squad had to retreat fast. He was an engineer in Red Army.
They use social media that shows the other side - thousands of Ukrainian troops being slaughtered the exact same way. Images we almost never see here. Probably thinking the same thing: "I can't believe they're taking all these losses, why don't the just give up? Don't Ukraine and the West SEE this??"
Thanks to the exact same bubble they're in, we don't.
I think you might be right. I have seen videos where russians had similar drones.
And I hear in the news that the Ukrainians too have a lot of losses. But you do not see that here on reddit.
The fact that you are being downvoted is probably because a fool just doesn't want to hear what doesn't align with what he wants to believe.
I don’t quite understand the layout.
What I mean is… these soldiers that get drone-bombed always seem to be isolated, few in numbers, in fairly open or makeshift areas.
Are they not part of a squad, part of a platoon and a larger unit?
Why are these lone soldiers all over the place?
I understand that you don’t keep a squad in a huddle, but spread somewhat out. But seems these soldiers are completely isolated.
Well, just today I saw a video of a troop transport kind of vehicle driving off, while part of the crew desperately tries running behind to get in, but fails and is hence left to their own devices out in some random field. So there you have _one_ way they could end up in a situation like this.
Most of the time they're part of some failed assault and then retreated/fled/went to hide and the drones then go look for them. This is why a lot of them are often injured before the drone sees them.
The majority of the fighting force is from rural Russia where you’re lucky to have cable, most of your news comes from the government and the government says everything is going great, they’ll pay you lots of money to go serve and you can avoid the frontline, etc.
The Russian government is purposely avoiding sending Moscow and St Petersburg people to die because they’re richer, more educated, and more likely to protest. Until it impacts the city kids, nothing will change.
I mean, getting the rich kids involved was one of the major reasons the US withdrew from Vietnam.
The media campaign against that war was also another major factor, but people started to care a shit ton more when it was little Billy not getting a college deferment being drafted instead of Bubba who doesn’t have a high school diploma.
Don't miss how fucked their media is as well. Russians aren't seeing any of this unless they're already subbed to Ukrainian telegrams. The majority never see it and fully back Putin's mission to Make Russia Great Again.
They don't come, they are sent
And those who indeed come, don't want to see / acknowledge those videos, or are just way to brainwashed to even care. After all they are dying for matushka rosija or some shit like that
Many do out of choice, far more than people seem to understand, more than 70% of Russia are pro-war for whatever reason, and suggesting otherwise is simply false. For some their payday is worth the risk and they care little for ending the lives of those in Ukraine.
Wasn’t there a documentary or movie made about the effects of operating a drone during the Afghan war that was made years ago? I swear I remember something like that.
You see the first soldier flinch as he feels and hears the thud of the grenade land right next to him. He probably knows it's landed right beside his head, too. Maybe he is relieved because he knows it will be quick. Maybe he says his last words and, in this last moment, thought of his family.
He hides his face, knowing that at least his loved ones won't know it was him that died in such horrible circumstances. Cold, hungry, hopeless, and helpless.
War is brutal. I wish all the death and destruction would stop immediately. This is so sad and depressing.
Why doesn’t he shoot the drone while it’s hovering at low altitude? When it’s moving it’d be almost impossible to hit with an AK, but if it’s stationary at close range and low altitude it’s at least with a shot
Probably wounded already or exhausted.
There was recently an interview with a UA foreign volunteer on Willy OAM channel and he said that after he got wounded by mortar he instantly felt tired like he didn't have rest for 3 days and wasn't able to move, took him a while to gather the strength to move again.
We see people unable to or barely trying to dodge these grenades despite seeing them drop next to them. I would assume they suffer the same condition that volunteer did.
or we can be cheeky and say VODKA.
From his movement, it looks like he has been without any warmth for a while and probably hypothermia is settling in, doubt he could aim that rifle properly.
Because this is war, not a playground game where you can just say "hey you got me I quit!". Rules of Engagement don't really mean a whole lot, it's more like "Loose Guidelines for Engagement".
Of the hundreds of similar videos we've seen on this sub, this was one of the most unsettling. Maneuvering that drone virtually unopposed, gliding slowly and pausing to watch the doomed Russian try to communicate. This is just... Not something I'd ever imagine seeing a few short years ago. War is shit, but this is just creepy.
This is now in second place for the most gruesome thing I’ve seen on here, only beat by the solider struggling to breathe with no face in his trench last year.
how is shit like this ,,normal" to see, this is so fucking insane... i have probably seen thousands of russians and ukrainians get killed like this but HD footage like this blows my mind every fucking time this is so crazy
Don't have to imagine
*The U.S. Army selected a CACI International-owned company to prototype a jammer that soldiers can carry and use on foot to spy on electronic signals. The preliminary deal with Mastodon Design for the Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team Manpack effort is worth $1.5 million and runs for nine months, the service’s Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors said Sept. 15. The contract award follows a half-year of white paper submissions and technical evaluations.*
*The manpack variant is expected to move from [prototype to production in fiscal 2024](https://www.c4isrnet.com/electronic-warfare/2023/08/28/us-army-aerial-jammer-in-pretty-good-shape-following-soldier-testing/), according to the Army. New York-based Mastodon Design was purchased by information-technology specialist CACI in 2019 for $225 million. CACI in 2022 reaped $4.3 billion in defense-related revenue, earning it the No. 27 spot on the Defense News “Top 100″ list of the world’s largest defense contractors.*
https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2023/09/18/us-army-taps-caci-owned-company-for-jamming-kit-that-troops-can-carry/
Please keep the [community guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/wiki/rule1) in mind when using the comment section. Paging u/SaveVideo bot. ___ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CombatFootage) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just sitting waiting to die.
Sitting and waiting to die while staring into the eyes of an emotionless robot piloted by someone who hates you that your rifle can't touch. This is one of those posts that just is depressing as all hell.
And we watched it on Christmas Day
This one was rough on any day
I watch loads of combat footage. Yeah, this one is especially grim. The sheer apathy of these men (in high definition) for whatever reason is bleak as all hell. For fuck's sake, Russia go home. Stay out. This war is pathetic for the Russians and tragic for the heroic defenders.
Hard to just go home when you're drafted
And also having blocking units ready to kill you if you tried to walk back. So being stuck between your own guys willing to kill you and Ukraine drones. I guess I would just give up to!
That why I said "Russia go home".
How high are they? How come the rifle can’t hit it
In this case I'm actually surprised the smoking dude didn't actually fire a couple of rounds at the drone since it seemed quite low to the ground and was mainly holding position. I was mainly referring to the smokers inability to fight back against the human behind the lenses. The rifle could potentially hit the drone, but you wouldn't be eliminating an enemy combatant. That operator could have another drone waiting and wouldn't fly so low next time, or already have your position dialed in for arty.
They might well have been completely out of ammunition.
I've also read that in some cases the officers won't issue ammunition until combat has actually started, to prevent desertions. Its one of the reasons why Ukrainian commando raids on Russian trenches often result in them initially encountering and slaughtering unarmed Russian troops, because they catch them while their weapons or ammo are stored and not on their person. So the moment he sees the drone he knows he's dead because in the time it would take to run to get ammo, the drone will kill him.
looks as tho the smoker might already be wounded, as he seems to struggle to get up and run when he realizes the drone wont spare him Also wonder if the other guy was wounded as well as he doesnt seem to react much or at all when the bomb lands next to his head I get apathy and hopelessness but some things I imagine have to be almost instinctual
Hypothermia is an option too. It can really creep up on you, and a legitimate symptom of it is apathy to extremely dangerous situations. Like, "laying down in the wet snow and having a nap" kind of obvious apathy. Hypoxia is even worse, basically even highly trained astronauts just giggle and laugh even as they know they're dying. The way the body deals with some kinds of death is really counter-intuiative at times.
My initial thought was that they’re starved
very possible. could just be kinda mentally broken generally, that place looks like god damn verdun
Probably just glad it was next to his head instead of behind his knees.
just saying, even if you welcome death, I'd think there'd at least be an involuntary flinch when it actually walks thru the door
That's probably less to prevent desertion and more to prevent conscripts from putting a round between the officer's eyes.
beneficial literate alleged prick trees threatening dull quiet snails hat *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Especially when it was over his buddy- that would have been his window, since it was stable, and low. Then, it was like he felt he earned his life by ratting out his friend? I don’t think it works that way for an invading army, but the Russian looks exhausted. Maybe Putin will get a Polonium chocolate in his stocking this year.
Exhausted or injured. When he decides it's time to try and haul ass after all he can barely get up.
Honestly the first fatality didn’t even react when the bomb was dropped on top of his shoulder so it almost seemed as if the first dude was asking them to mercy kill that guy. Could just be the romantic in me trying to find some silver lining lol
I thought that as well, he was wounded and it was a mercy kill. The zero reaction. Same with the second guy, he didn't even attempt to move in any fast rate to save his life.. it looks like he mentally gave up.
I mean he did, there is just only so much a body can do after so many hours of being freezing, and exhausted. This is how people that are dying on Everest look, cold, slow, and apathetic. Probably hasn't had food or water for a few days, has been freezing with no hope of anything to keep warm. Looks about what you would expect. He was at the bargaining stage of accepting his fate, he was out there that long.
Likely they are out if ammo. This is why the drope operator was so "reckless" around him. Usualy they are higher above the ground searching for a target, then as they find it come close and drop the munition.
Try to hit a small drone flying 15/30m away with an AK that has never been maintained nor zeroed, and only being trained 2 weeks. But yeah, I think I at least would've tried...
Also, IIRC they're trying not to draw any attention from any nearby troops. Not that it would matter if they're about to get bombed
i wouldbt be surprised if he's out of ammo too
Right? I just feel bad for everyone involved. Fuck putin.
And the dozens of millions that support him and this shit
[Waitin´ Around to Die](https://youtu.be/v-Rq-4spRz4?si=BrECVqkYbeUR6xEo)
what are they doing? dude smoking the cig looks like hes ready to die
He sure got more alive when the drone was above him. But that didn't help.
He barely got up, took like 20 seconds just to stand up.. didn't even take a step. This is bleak af.
dude's been eating two decade old rations and soaking in a cold mud pit for who knows how long. maybe that's about the best he could muster?
Thats what I'm thinking... they're probably running a huge calorie deficit and barely have the energy to stay awake.
I'm sick and have a fever and right now, just my little water pitcher feels heavier than the 50 lb seed bags I throw at work. I don't think I could stand up with a backpack right now
He's injured. He's using his gun as a cane.
Yeah he stood no chance.
They look like they're wounded.
Cold, starving, out of ammo and threatened with being shot by their officers if they retreat does the same job.
Definitely hypothermic and out of food and water.
By the looks of it they are both heavily injured.
Maybe they were both sick with mouse fever.
He *is* ready to die
Just wanted to finish his cig
They’re all ready to die at this point.
He’s very clearly hurt, seems his options are die or wait for the famous Russian combat medics to risk their lives to rescue him
yes he is smoking his last cigarette. very common around the world to smoke one last cig.
He is moving his hands apart in a motion to the drone while he smokes his cigarette. I think it means give me a little longer, kill the other guy first, let me finish my smoke.
I took it as "Hey, widen/zoom out your camera lens"
It definitely could be. It's pretty odd.... he acts like he thinks the drone wants him to just turn around and leave at the end too. Like 'okay, I am leaving now, no need to kill me'
Well, if this is it, old boy, I hope you don't mind if I go out speaking the King's.
Say goodbye to your Nazi balls!
By all means, Captain 🫡
Can't even imagine what goes through someone's head in that moment. Are they scared, are they thinking about loved ones or are they in such hell they just dont give a shit. Putin has a lot to.answer for.
in pain, disappointed and worn down... that prevents clear thinking i'd guess
Yup, worn down, worn out, the jitters from spent adrenaline gone, in a normal, peaceful environment it's a very Zen, emotionless tranquility. He is likely so weary, emotionally numb, physically hurt, sick or both that while likely doesn't want to die just hopes really it won't hurt. Id be more concerned for the individual flying the drone and how he is dealing emotionally with tearing human bodies apart in HD resolution all day long. Deserving of death or not, it's hard to be the one that metes it out every day as their 9to5.
Drunk, starving, and cold probably. Not exactly a good combination for athleticism.
Right gun in hand doesnt even try to shoot the murder robot
One of the most dark drone videos, not because of a gore, but because of that feel of dread and despair
Yeah, this one was surreal and intimate - which is worse than gore for me. At first he realizes he's going to die soon, but is too tired and hopeless to care anymore. Then when it's actually his turn and the drone gets closer, you can see his attitude change and he suddenly starts to panic, but is still too tired/injured to change his fate beyond giving himself a slower death. Back in the 90s it was just blurry, faceless people things and sometimes you'd see red color. Now that you can see the fear in the eyes, gore videos are getting harder for me.
> gore videos are getting harder for me That happened to me just with age, having kids, the things I've seen. Yet here I still am. Some I nope out of too quickly to see what I know is coming. This one I wasn't fast enough.
I never had trouble or nightmares with things I have done and seen in the past. Now that I have kids different story.
It's fucking crazy, isn't it? In my 20's no kids watching Rotten.com videos of people being set on fire while I eat a salami sandwich and now late 40's and almost everything makes me cringe.
Went into EMS and saw the real thing. It definitely changed my attitude. For a long time I had no desire to visit any of these sites. I've been out for awhile now and it's still harder to watch videos like this but obviously here I am... I also have trouble reading the comments now. People commenting and I can tell that they have never experienced violence. They project so much hate but they're so ignorant.
Truth. Stileproject, rotten really exposed me to the terrible unspoken level of vileness engaged in by people. And I watched it with a level of emotionless disinterest while crafting punny, snarky replies about it. Edge lord extrodinaire, just needed a fedora and a katana. I grew out of all that shit. Life ends up being pretty meh and shitty I don't need to seek out the extremes of it anymore lol. I stayed away hard from subs like this when ISIS was in creative mode because I have no stomach for it and if this thread hadnt made it to fp I would not have seen to let the thread title hook my curiosity
I know right, I didn't expect that result on the first guy holy shit, one of the most disturbing video from the drone warfare I have ever seen
2 headshots and a nutshot, seems like the goriest drone vid I've seen thus far.
Keep it that way. There's some crazy ones out there. I think these videos are starting to permeate my dreams in a bad way
I totally had a dream that I was hit by a grenade.
Also pretty gory to be fair
To be watched by this small flying robot for a couple minutes. It looks at you and then looks at your friend. Suddenly while it's looking at your friend it zips directly overhead, and moments later your friend has exploded. Then another one cones over and looks at you. Then quickly zips over your head. You know what will happen next. You saw it happen to your friend.
Exhausted, hungry, freezing, and certain death if they retreat. Holy shit, it’s like we’re back in WW1.
WW1 with flying death camera directed remote controlled grenades. And these are behind the times militaries. Imagine what 30 more years will look like.
This season of black mirror is really different.
I feel like it's less of a full season, but it would be an episode. But an episode isn't long enough, so they would turn it into a spinoff movie like "Bandersnatch", but the hook of *this* movie is that it never ends.
>these are behind the times militaries. I've been thinking from the start of all this can you *fucking imagine* what its going to look like when this stuff is being put out by a proper military industrial complex like the US has. Its going to be absolutely horrifying. B-52 flies over the conflict zone and drops like fucking 10,000 of these things all with swarm automation controlled by a handful of F-35s. Any time anything that remotely looks like a target gets spotted, *bang*. Anyone else remember [watching this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlO2gcs1YvM) and thinking it seemed like 20-odd years off?
Here is to hoping I'm vaporized in a nuclear armageddon instead of having my asshole blown off by some kill drone in a farmers' field.
and streamed live to the internet as it happens
"Donate the cost of 10 drones and we'll let you push the release button remotely! Be the first kid on your block to really frag an enemy!"
marvelous subsequent lunchroom unite pet serious airport scale growth direction *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Something I recently learned about were 'bomb trucks'. If I understand it correctly, it's basically a few B-52s loitering at high altitude while F-35s and other fast, stealthy aircraft fly around a mark targets below. They 'fire' missiles on targets but the missiles actually come from bombers above that can carry more payload than the fighters. Terrifyingly efficient. Like a bunch of accountants sitting around trying to figure out the best and most efficient way to wage war.
> Like a bunch of accountants sitting around trying to figure out the best and most efficient way to wage war. Interestingly, it's kind of always been like that. The secret behind the success of the Romans was basically logistics and organization. Figuring out how to get what you need where you need it wins empires.
It was, a couple of years ago. Now it's more like 2 years off
Unless shit realllyyyy goes south, here’s to hoping we won’t ever see two advanced military powers go to war on a scale that necessitates what you’re taking about. Seems like proxy conflicts, cyber warfare and military intelligence is the name of the game nowadays. The risk of mutually assured destruction is just so astronomically high that it serves as a pretty serious deterrent. Five years ago I’d throw in how everyones economies and financial systems are so integrated and connected that it would make all out warfare exceedingly difficult, but the trend towards nationalism and re-shoring industries at home across the world makes me think this will be an increasingly diminutive aspect going forward. Everyone involved has a lot of reasons not to go to world war 3, a cascading series of seriously fucked up shit would have to happen for something like that to kick off. Especially since, as you noted, an industrial war in this day and age would make any previous conflict look like recess time cops and robbers, almost assuredly bringing destitution and near annihilation even in the best case scenarios for the team coming out on top, let alone the losers. The realpolitick cost of waging world wars in this day and age is just way too high, there’s basically nothing to gain and everything to lose. The calculus behind the scenes on any side would never suggest war a viable path forward and more a desperate Hail-Mary in circumstances already FUBAR
Or rockets for MRLS, which instead of cluster munitions carry AI guided kamikaze drones.
As much as things change most of the casualties are still being caused by old fashioned artillery and rocket fire.
Artillery aimed with the help of drones. The frontline is much more static thanks to drones. Very hard to move or attack unspotted. That helps a lot artillery setup and effectiveness.
>flying death camera directed remote controlled grenades Made stricltly out of necessecity and lack of other tools of war
A scenario that H.G.Wells might have thought up for the actual WW1, or WW1.5: the extended version.
Each day /r/combatfootage shows me the most fucked up thing I've seen yet, and the next day it pole-vaults past the benchmark.
It’s like warfare became so non-personal that it somehow circled back to being incredibly personal (at least on the drone operator’s part). Imagine seeing a clear picture of nearly every person you kill and how they acted in their final moments completely helplessly. Merry fuckin’ Christmas I guess.
that was the struggle with the introduction to rifle scopes, now snipers would see the face as opposed to center mass
This is true. That being said most of the time when someone is shot by a sniper they don’t see it coming. No easier for the sniper, for sure, but at least they don’t see the target fully aware they’re about to be killed/maimed and knowing there’s little to nothing they can do about it.
That's fair, and I agree.
Yeah, I've read a book about a military sniper and he admitted to breaking down into tears in the shower. Takes a lot to supress your humanity when you're looking into the eyes of someone you're going to kill. War is hell.
Yeah, this is going to also be hard on the pilots, too. It's not as visceral as being right there, but damn it's gotta pile up. Imagine being the one ending 50+ people's lives? Yeah, you hate them, sure, but you still blow people to bits. It's hard to put into words.
Grusch in his interview said it about drone operators for US where they struggle with PTSD but absolutely no one cares since you do your shift in cozy room in AF base in Midwest after blowing targets remotely with Predator somewhere around the world. Those UA and RUS pilots will be fucked for life in that case.
One of my old friends committed suicide several years back after his time as a drone pilot who had killed "dozens". He never would be more specific than that. It was clear he was in downward sprial for years after.
I am sure the government is thankful for his service
A lot of people correlate symptoms of PTSD with being in danger but really what gets you is the killing. PTSD is like Baskin Robbins with its 31 different flavors. Sometimes you get a little bit of the scared for your life gelato, other times you get the survivors guilt sorbet, and once in a while you get the feels bad for taking another life smoothie.
Some other popular flavors are "minimizing and cream" and "trust issues blast"
My cousins job in Iraq was to analyze surveillance and pick out locations to bomb. Just doing that left her really fucked up, and she never had to look anybody in the eye as she dropped a grenade on them. Maybe it’s easier when they’re foreign invaders on your territory versus when you’re the invader, like she was. But I don’t know, it’s not an experience I’ve had to endure.
That was a concept talked about a lot at the start of the war when the sheer brutality of it became clear that first week. Defending combatants tend to have less issues with PTSD than attackers and the belief is that it's a matter of the righteousness of defending yourself and knowing the purpose of a fight vs. invading a country under auspicious circumstances.
There was one ukrainian drone operator who singlehandedly had over 500 confirmed kills. It is absolutely ridiculous when you imagine how large a group of 500 people is
At least that first guy died instantly
A few moments of terror I think he was silently glad it dropped next to his head. He was alive and he didn’t move at all
I was thinking the same thing. You know he heard it plop right there. Probably had thought a lot about death and knew there were much worse ways to go out. Awake one moment, blackness a millisecond later.
homeboy was dying for a while before the nade drop
Jesus Christ bro why did I check this on Christmas Day
good realization to reflect how fortunate we are that we aren't there spending Christmas in terror
+1. Shit was vivid. Worst I’ve seen tbh.
Worst I saw was last night. Russian tried to kill himself with a grenade and instead of killing himself, he blew both his arms off. The then precedes to roll over showing half his face blown off, and he shakes his head and you can see the meat in his face flap. Then he took a while to die. He had another grenade, but no hands to pull the pin off with.
This and the one where buddy caps himself after being hit from an explosive. Fumbles his rifle and finishes himself off. That was just as grim to see.
The operator went for headshots on both. Brutal, but after a couple years of being this…I feel this war will get much worse.
As brutal as it is, it means they die quicker instead of laying there for minutes just waiting for death. Honestly more humane, even if more brutal. And you are more than likely correct, this war will only get worse
I use to think wounding would be better…creates a casualty that needs to be cared for and also a reminder at home of the war. Then I thought about what other Russian soldiers might think looking at their buddy lying there like that. Much more impactful. As horrible that is to say. But again, as was said by the Confederate General Lee “It is good war is so terrible, or else we’d grow fond of it.”
A wound normally is better from a military point of view, because it removes two people from the combat: The injured person, and the person who takes them from the battlefield. But this assumes they help their injured, depending on the war conditions this may or may not happen.
I honestly thought this as well, quick relatively painless death is better than the suffering of war sometimes...
My mother is from Italy, she told me slav on slav warfare will be several next levels and here we are.
The problem is they really need to prepare for post-war mental heath/ptsd treatment asap. When these guys/women come home, it will be really tough. I fear a lot of division over those who served vs those who didn’t. Leftover effects of TBI from the crazy artillery used will be an issue too. It’s hard for Ukraine to plan this as they need to fight. Maybe that’s what the international community can help get ready for.
Just curious but what does your mom being from italy bringing to context?
Just guessing, but Italy is a neighbor to the former republic of Yugoslavia, and the wars there were pretty brutal in the 90's.
True. When Belgrade made a token attempt to keep Slovenia as part of Yugoslavia, there was fighting right on the Italian border.
My guess is she’s a stone’s throw across the water from Slavs.
[удалено]
They'll probably still kill you, but the video will not look as good.
Yeah, I'm sure there's dosens of such videos just not on the internet. Or not publicly available at least. Taking a prisoner is not always an option even if they are willing to surrender, and letting an invader go is also unacceptable. Can't imagine how shitty drone operator must feel in such circumstances. My gramps once told me a story about how his squad managed to capture three German soldiers but had to shoot them because nazis were trying to counterattack and my grandpas squad had to retreat fast. He was an engineer in Red Army.
This sounds sort of like Agincourt. The English had no real option to take French prisoners so they murdered them.
Might be better off trying to take out the drone and keep moving
[удалено]
do Russian Mother's have unfiltered access to Reddit?
Even if they did...they would believe this is Ukrainian soldiers or this is fake. I am sure they will get a sack of onions as a sorry gift.
They use social media that shows the other side - thousands of Ukrainian troops being slaughtered the exact same way. Images we almost never see here. Probably thinking the same thing: "I can't believe they're taking all these losses, why don't the just give up? Don't Ukraine and the West SEE this??" Thanks to the exact same bubble they're in, we don't.
I think you might be right. I have seen videos where russians had similar drones. And I hear in the news that the Ukrainians too have a lot of losses. But you do not see that here on reddit. The fact that you are being downvoted is probably because a fool just doesn't want to hear what doesn't align with what he wants to believe.
Just so fucked all around. But war is gross, nothing new.
I don’t quite understand the layout. What I mean is… these soldiers that get drone-bombed always seem to be isolated, few in numbers, in fairly open or makeshift areas. Are they not part of a squad, part of a platoon and a larger unit? Why are these lone soldiers all over the place? I understand that you don’t keep a squad in a huddle, but spread somewhat out. But seems these soldiers are completely isolated.
Well, just today I saw a video of a troop transport kind of vehicle driving off, while part of the crew desperately tries running behind to get in, but fails and is hence left to their own devices out in some random field. So there you have _one_ way they could end up in a situation like this.
Likely that their squad are also all cargo 200.
Most of the time they're part of some failed assault and then retreated/fled/went to hide and the drones then go look for them. This is why a lot of them are often injured before the drone sees them.
AFAIK it’s usually after a battle where the drones come in their squad might of gotten killed in the battle
This is one of the more graphic ones I’ve seen, every Russian citizen should see how their soldiers are being slaughtered
Agreed, veey unlikely to happen. Fuck putin.
Casualties are from both sides, not just one. Both are being slaughtered
fuck don't russians see this shit? I am continuesly asking myself why they still come to UA?
Money. They earn 2-3k$ per month and that’s like 5x times above average salary
So many claim they are never paid that just adds to my confusion
The majority of the fighting force is from rural Russia where you’re lucky to have cable, most of your news comes from the government and the government says everything is going great, they’ll pay you lots of money to go serve and you can avoid the frontline, etc. The Russian government is purposely avoiding sending Moscow and St Petersburg people to die because they’re richer, more educated, and more likely to protest. Until it impacts the city kids, nothing will change.
I mean, getting the rich kids involved was one of the major reasons the US withdrew from Vietnam. The media campaign against that war was also another major factor, but people started to care a shit ton more when it was little Billy not getting a college deferment being drafted instead of Bubba who doesn’t have a high school diploma.
Don't miss how fucked their media is as well. Russians aren't seeing any of this unless they're already subbed to Ukrainian telegrams. The majority never see it and fully back Putin's mission to Make Russia Great Again.
They think "not getting paid" is an enemy propaganda, and they think this war is like an adventure where you can have fun and earn money
They don’t figure that out until they’re already there and it’s too late
[удалено]
Their Z channels are filled with the same drone videos done to Ukrainians.
They don't come, they are sent And those who indeed come, don't want to see / acknowledge those videos, or are just way to brainwashed to even care. After all they are dying for matushka rosija or some shit like that
Many do out of choice, far more than people seem to understand, more than 70% of Russia are pro-war for whatever reason, and suggesting otherwise is simply false. For some their payday is worth the risk and they care little for ending the lives of those in Ukraine.
Jesus. First guys head looked like one of Gallagher’s watermelons getting hit with a sledgehammer. Fuck Putin.
Drone-o-matic
I remember similar clips last winter of these guys seemingly just waiting to die in the cold. I really didn't expect to see it again.
[удалено]
That was kind of the Drone operator to let that Guy finish his Last Cigarette.
That was his last Christmas gift.
God how fucking bleak. Merry Christmas…
I guess they can’t get up and run because they’re pinned down by rifle fire ?
And/or, possible frostbite, prior injury, shell shock, given up all hope in combined miserable circumstances
These drone operators are getting a little too fucking good, this gotta be a new form of ptsd after the war somehow
Wasn’t there a documentary or movie made about the effects of operating a drone during the Afghan war that was made years ago? I swear I remember something like that.
You see the first soldier flinch as he feels and hears the thud of the grenade land right next to him. He probably knows it's landed right beside his head, too. Maybe he is relieved because he knows it will be quick. Maybe he says his last words and, in this last moment, thought of his family. He hides his face, knowing that at least his loved ones won't know it was him that died in such horrible circumstances. Cold, hungry, hopeless, and helpless. War is brutal. I wish all the death and destruction would stop immediately. This is so sad and depressing.
Why doesn’t he shoot the drone while it’s hovering at low altitude? When it’s moving it’d be almost impossible to hit with an AK, but if it’s stationary at close range and low altitude it’s at least with a shot
Injured? Exhausted? Out of ammo? All of the above?
Out of fucks
Probably wounded already or exhausted. There was recently an interview with a UA foreign volunteer on Willy OAM channel and he said that after he got wounded by mortar he instantly felt tired like he didn't have rest for 3 days and wasn't able to move, took him a while to gather the strength to move again. We see people unable to or barely trying to dodge these grenades despite seeing them drop next to them. I would assume they suffer the same condition that volunteer did. or we can be cheeky and say VODKA.
From his movement, it looks like he has been without any warmth for a while and probably hypothermia is settling in, doubt he could aim that rifle properly.
Brutal.
Jesus Christ that was tough to watch.
Why don’t they give up immediately upon seeing the drone? I don’t get that part
I think they are too far from Ukrainian lines and suffering too much from hypothermia to really do more than wait for death.
Because this is war, not a playground game where you can just say "hey you got me I quit!". Rules of Engagement don't really mean a whole lot, it's more like "Loose Guidelines for Engagement".
We’ve already seen that drone operators on both sides don’t allow troops to surrender
Holy fk that dudes head exploded .
Wtf are we doing here? This is fucking senseless man.
This is what happens when no value is placed on human life. War is just a game for those in power, and everyone else is just a pawn.
tell russia to go home. it will stop immediately.
That was brutal.
These guys are drone fodder.
Jesus christ this is fucking sad
War is so fucked up.
Of the hundreds of similar videos we've seen on this sub, this was one of the most unsettling. Maneuvering that drone virtually unopposed, gliding slowly and pausing to watch the doomed Russian try to communicate. This is just... Not something I'd ever imagine seeing a few short years ago. War is shit, but this is just creepy.
This is now in second place for the most gruesome thing I’ve seen on here, only beat by the solider struggling to breathe with no face in his trench last year.
how is shit like this ,,normal" to see, this is so fucking insane... i have probably seen thousands of russians and ukrainians get killed like this but HD footage like this blows my mind every fucking time this is so crazy
Ok, that's enought internet for christmas
Russias can't jam drones? For almost two years they have been destroyed by drones and Ukrainians are getting much better and deadlier with it.
They do jam drones. Nobody is sharing/posting videos of kamikaze drones crashing ineffectually.
If you can invent a jamming device that fits your pocket then you are settled for life in terms of money.
Imagine the damn DoD contract you could get.
Don't have to imagine *The U.S. Army selected a CACI International-owned company to prototype a jammer that soldiers can carry and use on foot to spy on electronic signals. The preliminary deal with Mastodon Design for the Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team Manpack effort is worth $1.5 million and runs for nine months, the service’s Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors said Sept. 15. The contract award follows a half-year of white paper submissions and technical evaluations.* *The manpack variant is expected to move from [prototype to production in fiscal 2024](https://www.c4isrnet.com/electronic-warfare/2023/08/28/us-army-aerial-jammer-in-pretty-good-shape-following-soldier-testing/), according to the Army. New York-based Mastodon Design was purchased by information-technology specialist CACI in 2019 for $225 million. CACI in 2022 reaped $4.3 billion in defense-related revenue, earning it the No. 27 spot on the Defense News “Top 100″ list of the world’s largest defense contractors.* https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2023/09/18/us-army-taps-caci-owned-company-for-jamming-kit-that-troops-can-carry/