Russia deploys dazzle paint on trucks amid massive Ukrainian drone attacks

On Saturday, Ukraine launched more than 330 drones against targets across Russia, including the Moscow region. Russian air‑defence systems reported shooting down 339 drones in 13 regions between 07:00 and 20:00 local time, prompting temporary airport closures and the early termination of a cultural festival in Kronstadt.

Facing intense drone strikes on its logistical routes, Russian forces have begun applying a specialised “dazzle paint” camouflage to cargo trucks. The paint features zebra‑stripe and leaf‑like patterns intended to confuse the visual AI systems used by Ukrainian drones. Experts note that such masking can mislead algorithms that have not been trained on these patterns, but the technique may have limited effect once the AI is retrained on new data.

The development reflects an escalating technological duel, with Ukrainian drones increasingly employing artificial‑intelligence navigation and Russian defenses adapting both electronic and visual countermeasures.