Russia’s new ‘drone‑proof’ tanks overwhelmed by Ukrainian swarms in Donbas battle (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,628)

Every day, the Ukraine Battlefield update newsletter offers a clear look at how the war is unfolding on the ground. Subscribe for free here to get the full text delivered to your inbox. Russia’s active protection system works very well, but only under 2023 conditions. Rodynske near Pokrovsk has definitively fallen. Mala Tokmachka is once again a hot topic in Russia, while Rybar is dampening the enthusiasm. The recruitment of volunteers into the Russian army has accelerated again. Maps of the day — Mala Tokmachka and Orikhiv; Rodynske and Dobropillia Videos of the day — Pantsir unsuccessfully tried three times to shoot down a drone; a burst from an anti-aircraft cannon landed among parked cars in the Russian city of Yaroslavl; drones launched from a naval drone attacked an S-400 system in Crimea Russia’s active protection system works very well, but only under 2023 conditions. We have already written about the major Russian mechanised assault towards Dobropillia. During it, the Russians attempted to push towards the town in a manner reminiscent of mechanised assaults from the beginning of the invasion. In addition to lighter equipment such as quad bikes and motorcycles, infantry fighting vehicles and tanks took part for the first time in a long while. The result was the loss of seven tanks, six BMPs, two multiple rocket launchers and dozens of other pieces of equipment on the Russian side. The battle took place on 22 July in the area of responsibility of the 1st Azov Corps, which is defending the approaches to a town located less than 20 km from Pokrovsk. However, several important pieces of information have emerged in recent days that describe the course of the battle in detail. Above all, they describe the effect of a new Russian technical innovation which, if deployed widely, could return tanks and other heavy equipment to the front line. The war has reached a point where, due to the total dominance of drones, surprise attacks and deep incursions into enemy lines followed by the seizure of territory are almost impossible. A solution is therefore being sought to return tanks to the battlefield. According to Polish analyst Jarosław Wolski, the Russians attempted this on the aforementioned 22 July with two columns. One set out from the occupied village of Vozdvyzhenka, the other from Novoekonomichne. Both lie east of Myrnohrad. The columns headed towards Volodymyrivka. Their objective was the village of Shakhove, located 15 and 18 kms respectively from their starting points. The Russians got roughly halfway there. The first convoy reached Novotoretske, while the second reached Popiv Yar. There, the columns deployed into combat formation. Wielka - mała bitwa? Pierwszy korpus Azowa podaje że 22 lipca siły rosyjskie ze składu 8 i 41 armii oraz 90 Gwardyjskiej Dywizji Pancernej podjęły nieudaną próbę pokonania ukraińskiej obrony. Rosyjskie wydzielone siły 41 GA oraz 90 GDPanc wyszły z regionu Nowoekonomicznego zaś… pic.twitter.com/nN3rmPCjVn— Jarosław Wolski (@wolski_jaros) July 26, 2026 The Russian attack was preceded by the massive use of electronic jamming, artillery and air power. According to Wolski, the Ukrainians remotely mined the routes of the Russian advance and used their own aircraft to attack Russian pontoon bridges. And, of course, they deployed drones on a massive scale. These encountered seven Russian T-72B3A tanks equipped with the new Arena-M active protection system. It is a combination of sensors and countermeasures that can theoretically neutralise a large proportion of weapons threatening the vehicles, including shaped-charge projectiles and drones. Active protection systems are gradually becoming more widespread on modern military equipment. Slovak and Czech CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles, for example, will also have them. The Israeli Trophy is probably the best known. However, they have not been deployed on a large scale in the war in Ukraine. The Russians have now attempted to change this on a larger scale for the first time, and it worked rather well. Ukrainian veteran Dmytro Putiata, better known by the nickname Kreigsforscher, wrote on Saturday that he had communicated with units involved in the battle, which had therefore been able to test the effectiveness of the Russian system. “Unfortunately, it works. The system on one tank destroyed seven FPV drones. Overall, 15 to 20 FPV drones were needed to destroy a tank,” the soldier said. The discrepancy in the figures is easy to explain. Even without active protection systems, several drones are needed to destroy a tank. Videos usually show the effects of the final one, but it is rarely known how many had come before it. Arena-M therefore increased the number of drones needed to destroy a tank, but it did not protect it. The Russian Telegram channel Military Informant noted the Ukrainian information and added its own observations: “We have now acquired a functioning KAZ [active protection system] against drones, but because of its lengthy development it is several years behind battlefield conditions. The number of FPV drones is now so high that the enemy simply exhausts the existing small stock of defensive ammunition and then attacks the unprotected vehicle. Unfortunately, in its current form, Arena-M would have been extremely useful in 2023–2025, but today it would require far more defensive ammunition, which is difficult to achieve given the system’s dimensions and the limited space on a tank.” It is clear that the Russians will not stop after a single attempt and will continue looking for a solution. They do not yet have one, but they are not the only ones keen to increase tanks’ survivability on the front line. Rodynske near Pokrovsk has definitively fallen. This is according to the respected and reliable OSINT account Playfra, which summarised the battle for the town and drew the maps below. Dobropillia direction, Rodynske sector.After almost exactly 1 year of extremely intense fighting, the battle for Rodynske is effectively over, with the last Ukrainian pockets of resistance finally being eliminated or having retreated.The battle started in August 2025, when… pic.twitter.com/CdZMYkJKRP— Playfra (@Playfra0) August 8, 2026 As is common in this war, the Russians have long claimed to fully control Rodynske. Before the war, it had just under 10,000 inhabitants. It lies on the northern approach to the Pokrovsk/Myrnohrad urban area and, as Playfra wrote, fighting for the town began in August 2025, when the situation east of it deteriorated sharply. Due to a serious shortage of soldiers, the Russians then crossed the Kazennyi Torets stream unexpectedly quickly and began pushing into the town. Rodynske, like Bilytske further to the north, was very important to the defence of Pokrovsk because one of the last roads into the city ran along their western edge. The Russians tried relentlessly to cut it off and bypass Pokrovsk from the north. They ultimately failed and had to capture it by another means. Paradoxically, the town whose fall was meant to speed up the capture of Pokrovsk held out for many months after it. That is no longer the case. “After almost a year of extremely intense fighting, the battle for Rodynske ended after the last Ukrainian pockets of resistance were destroyed or abandoned,” Playfra wrote. As a result, the Russians have further strengthened their positions across the entire Pokrovsk area, which they will use in an attempt to advance further towards Dobropillia. To reach it, they now face a battle for the Ukrainian defensive line running from Bilytske to Vodyanske. Mala Tokmachka is once again a hot topic in Russia, while Rybar is dampening the enthusiasm. This is a village near Orikhiv on the Zaporizhzhia front that has gained notoriety on both sides. Unsuccessful attempts at a Ukrainian offensive began near it in June 2023. Ukrainian mechanised columns suffered heavy losses in the wider area. However, it only became an internet joke after the Russians repeatedly announced the capture of the village over the previous year — a claim that was never confirmed.