When ruins fire back: Ukraine has begun creating unique camouflage nets for urban combat (photos, videos).

Three-dimensional camouflage nets designed to protect soldiers during urban combat have been created by volunteers from the group "Hand Made for the Army by Caring Poltava Residents." These nets effectively mimic construction debris that remains after destruction.

Painted foam and polystyrene effectively imitate broken building materials

— This innovation unfortunately originated from the Russians, — explains the group's coordinator Tatyana Sigida. — One of our military personnel, Oleksa Koba, noticed it back in October last year and posted photos of several such nets on his Facebook page. "Unlike us, the Russians do not create messes; they adapt well and do everything for their victory. The new camouflage nets being sewn for them by volunteers are already being actively used by all killers—from snipers and drone operators to covering equipment and fire support. From a distance or at an angle in urban settings and debris from shelling, this provides a very powerful disguise," — Oleksa captioned the photos.

This became a catalyst for us to take action. After carefully studying the photographs, we began to consider what materials were needed to create a net with a 3D effect. We settled on lightweight foam and polystyrene.

The volunteers received foam from a furniture factory. They scavenged polystyrene from homes. They cut it into random shapes. Initially, they tied pieces of material to the net's base with wire, but during the process, the idea arose to glue them onto spray-mounted foam. Then, the net was painted to match the landscape.

The entire process took six hours. The area of the net is six square meters. According to the volunteer group's coordinator, they usually weave the nets small to make it easier to send packages by mail, and then, depending on the needs, the soldiers connect them on-site.

— We worked on the experimental net with particular enthusiasm, — continues Tatyana. — In the future, once the technology is developed, creating such camouflage will certainly take less time. We will also consider which materials are best to use. For example, foam absorbs moisture and becomes heavy, while polystyrene cannot be reduced in volume, making it harder to transport.

The 3D camouflage is already with our military, who are holding the defense on one of the fronts. It has generated great enthusiasm among the soldiers.

— How does it work? — I ask my interlocutor.

— In my view, these are more stationary nets. They are scattered over the ruins in various places during urban assaults. They serve as a covert shelter for soldiers underneath. As they say, the ruins shoot...

The advantage of such nets is that they are very lightweight. However, both we and the military are concerned about the bulkiness that the polystyrene adds. When folded, our net measures 132 centimeters in length and 63 centimeters in diameter. If there are three of them, it takes up a lot of space. This is not very convenient for quick troop movements. Therefore, we agreed with the team that the second net will be made only from foam. We will see which option is better. In short, the experiment continues.

Tatyana Sigida anticipates that orders for volumetric nets from the Armed Forces will increase in the near future.

— Of course, it is easier for volunteers to make them in frontline areas, — says the woman. — This would simplify logistics for delivery, and materials could be supplied from rear regions. We are ready to share our developments with others.

Unfortunately, every volunteer group specializing in camouflage nets has a large number of orders and very limited resources. But despite everything, we must meet the new needs of the defenders. We have one goal: to ensure that they all return home alive.

Counteroffensive under an "invisibility blanket"

The group "Hand Made for the Army by Caring Poltava Residents", which is a subdivision of the public organization "Poltava Battalion of Caring Citizens", was established back in 2014. Over this time, only the most resilient, marathon-minded individuals have remained in it. There are no more than a dozen of them. Many women—accountants, journalists, educators, psychologists by profession—combine work with volunteering, but every day, at least for a couple of hours, they come to their "base." Some work from home. The work never stops. Monthly, the volunteers send up to 120 ordinary camouflage nets with a total area of around 2,000 square meters and one and a half hundred pieces of individual camouflage equipment to the front.

— Besides "kikimoras" and ponchos, our women create protective devices against thermal imaging, which we call screens, — says Tatyana. — As is known, thermal imaging reacts to heat, and a person is the warmest object in the environment, making them immediately visible and easy targets. One of our volunteer's godsons once asked her if we could create something to protect soldiers from enemy thermal imaging. This was several years ago. We pondered and found a solution. We bought a piece of very thin thermal insulation (a construction material used for thermal insulation. — Ed.) and covered it with spandbond fabric in a multicam color. It turned out very well. When a person covers themselves with such a screen, the thermal imager cannot see them because it blocks the heat. And the person underneath blends in with the surroundings, becoming invisible.

— So, a sort of invisibility blanket?

— I would compare it to a bulletproof vest. It does not provide 100% protection, but it significantly minimizes danger. This is very helpful for our fighters. Most often, as we know, soldiers die when entering or exiting positions. We have already sewn about a thousand such "blankets." According to the sapper units, they successfully used them during the counteroffensive in 2023. By covering themselves with them, they cleared areas even at night, facilitating the advance of our units. Meanwhile, infantry soldiers, setting up screens in a tent shape over themselves, dug trenches and built bunkers.

Moreover, these screens (we make them square, measuring 2x2 meters) are very lightweight and retain heat. They help keep warm in cold weather. They can be folded into a mat. In short, a multifunctional handmade product. There is also very high demand for them because, unfortunately, such items are not long-lasting.

— What if we made a suit from the materials you mentioned…

— The military has also asked us for this. We have made cloaks and ponchos at their request. Unfortunately, such models are not as effective as screens and begin to let heat through quite quickly due to friction in areas of direct contact with the body. Also, if a soldier moves even in small bursts, they will be visible because any movement is easily tracked by a UAV operator if the drone is equipped with night vision or thermal imaging. The idea is to hide under a thermal insulation screen, freeze in place so that the enemy does not notice you. This is also an indispensable item for scouts.

— The nature of the war is constantly changing, and those in the rear must meet the new needs of the military, — summarizes Tatyana. — If anyone wants to take advantage of our experience, we are happy to share our developments with them.

Photos and videos provided by Tatyana Sigida