Ukraine war drives new drone‑masking tech and sparks wave of hospital attacks

The Russian‑Ukrainian conflict has become a testing ground for advanced drone warfare. Ukraine’s defence firm STG Defence has introduced thermal‑signature masking gear, including a personal poncho and equipment shelters, designed to lower detection by infrared and radar systems used on unmanned aerial vehicles. The company says the products have passed laboratory and field trials, received a NATO stock number and are listed in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence’s technical requirements.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reports that Russian forces have carried out 2,811 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine since February 2022, destroying or damaging more than 2,500 sites. The organisation describes a pattern of precise, repeated strikes, including “double‑tap” attacks that target rescuers after an initial hit. Access to medical care near the front line has fallen from 72 % before the war to 35 % now, with staff shortages and infrastructure loss worsening civilian suffering.