A master thesis from Aalborg University
Tactical Weapons of Despair: Drone Warfare in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2024
Submitted on
2024-08-30
Pages
135 pages
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the characteristics of drone warfare within the context of the Russo-Ukrainian war, focusing on the period from its escalation on February 24, 2022, through June 2024. The thesis mainly focuses on the transformation of the practice of drone deployment on the Ukrainian frontline compared to its historical uses over previous decades. The research primarily examines consumer off-the-shelf drones and the technological shift from airplane-like drones to quadcopters. Additionally, the study explores the interconnections between consumer drone technology, battlefield conditions, and the imperialist violence inflicted on Ukrainian society and land. By analyzing these connections, the study seeks to provide an ethical reflection on modern drone warfare, highlighting the complexity of political violence associated with drone technology in Ukraine. The study reveals how consumer drones, utilized as tactical weapons and weapons of despair by the Ukrainian side, create an increasingly hostile condition. In this context, imperialist violence is not only sustained. It also evolves by instrumentalizing tactics of resistance in order to reshape the living spaces that it invades.
Keywords
Documents
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