During attempts to advance toward Defense Forces positions on the Southern-Slobozhanskyi axis, Russians truly believe in the extraordinary camouflage and protective properties of “penguin” ponchos.

This was reported to ArmyInform by Rostyslav Dron, officer of the media interaction group of the “Forpost” brigade of the State Border Guard Service.

“The enemy actively uses anti-drone and camouflage cloaks, which create a false sense of complete invisibility. Because of this, they often freeze or behave inadequately when being targeted, assuming the drone ‘cannot see them.’ We have several FPV-strike videos where Russians simply sit wrapped up in the middle of a field, sometimes pretending to be dead,” he said.

There may be several explanations for this strange behavior.

“In my opinion, there are two explanations: first — they are actually being told in training centers that they are invisible or invulnerable; second — they may be under the influence of something”, — the serviceman suggested.

In reality, enemy infantry in “penguin” ponchos are clearly visible from drones both day and night using thermal cameras. They do provide some ballistic protection, but it does not save them from precise strikes.

“In practice, such equipment only partially reduces the effectiveness of strikes: for a guaranteed result, the munition must be applied at a shorter distance.

For example: a VOG-17 can hit a target when dropped within a radius of 5–7 meters, but with anti-drone cloaks, the operator must drop the munition within about a meter”, — the officer explained.