In 2025, the war in Ukraine is being fought with sophisticated drones, as well as improvised weapons and resources that seemed to belong to the past. Russian troops have started using donkeys to transport ammunition and supplies to the front lines.
Pro-Russian military bloggers published images last week showing Russian soldiers alongside donkeys, stating that the animals are being used for transportation.
"The boys from one of the units received a donkey for logistics. A real donkey," wrote a military blogger who posted a photo of a donkey standing next to a man in uniform.
"What did you expect? Vehicles are insufficient these days!" wrote another Russian commentator, Kirill Federov.
According to a Russian soldier on the front lines, as cited by pro-war bloggers, the donkeys were not provided by volunteers but by the Russian Ministry of Defense. However, the ministry did not comment on the information, as reported by Business Insider.
Federov and several other bloggers also posted an image of three armed individuals in uniform posing with a camel.
It is not clear if the use of donkeys is a widespread practice among Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, but several Russian officials have publicly defended this solution when the images were shared by military bloggers and went viral.
"There is nothing wrong with it," stated Viktor Sobolev, a member of the Defense Committee of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's national legislature, to the Russian publication Gazeta.
Sobolev, a retired lieutenant general of the Russian army, mentioned "very great difficulties" in supplying units with ammunition and food. He explained that transportation with pack animals is a valid solution and that losing a donkey would be better for the Russian army than losing troops or transport vehicles.
"During the Great Patriotic War, some of our artillery was pulled by horses," Sobolev added, referring to World War II.
Another member of the State Duma's Defense Committee, Viktor Zavarin, told the Russian television station RTVI: "Let the donkeys contribute to victory."
However, the appearance of donkeys has sparked a wave of irony both in Russia and Ukraine. One message presented a tally of Russia's losses on the front, including the number of donkeys fallen in action.
And Two Majors, a popular pro-war Russian military blogger, asked on Telegram whether captured donkeys by the enemy would be considered missing in action or prisoners of war.
T.D.