“Ukrainian Vietnam”: drones, artillery, and reconnaissance in Kherson’s water maze
Across Kherson runs one of the toughest stretches of the frontline — a shifting maze of river delta channels, overgrown thickets, and elusive crossings. In this watery battlefield, survival depends on adaptation. One of the units that has mastered it is “Buzky Gard”: fighters who fuse intimate knowledge of the terrain with the tactics of asymmetric warfare. Frontliner reports on how they operate in this zone of constant risk.
In the mud and dust of Kherson, among reed thickets, floodplains, and shattered roads, soldiers have their own nickname for this sector: “the Ukrainian Vietnam.” Unlike the straight trench lines mapped on other fronts, the Dnipro delta is a chaotic, ever-shifting labyrinth of islands, wetlands, and river crossings — a place where the frontline is more notional than fixed.
To fight in such conditions, soldiers must master the logic of waterways and learn to “see” targets hidden among reeds and shadows. “Buzky Gard” is one of the units that has honed this skill. Their tactics rely on a hybrid mix of aerial reconnaissance and ground raids. Operating across land and water, they use drones to spot the enemy quickly and strike with precision.
From civic initiative to combat unit
“Buzky Gard” was not born in the trenches but long before the full-scale invasion, as the voice of a civic movement. Their path began with training camps and shooting competitions in the Mykolaiv region, where the unit’s future backbone was forged, bound not only by weapons but by shared values.
They once defended a Scythian burial mound near Skoeleve and campaigned against the flooding of part of the Buzky Gard National Park. For them, protecting the country and preserving its history are not separate missions but one and the same. Even the unit’s name is symbolic: it points back to the Southern Bug Cossack legacy of freedom, dignity, and defending one’s homeland.
Striking logistics as a strategic advantage
Today, “Buzky Gard” is not focused on destroying large volumes of enemy equipment every day. Instead, they methodically disrupt the opponent’s logistics — striking vehicles waiting to move, fuel depots, and supply hubs. The effect is asymmetric: Russian forces are forced to divert resources to guard convoys, change their routes, and operate under constant strain.
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Serviceman of the composite unit “Buzky Gard,” Kherson region, Ukraine — August 17, 2025. Photo: Margarita Fal / Frontliner
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Drones play a crucial role here — especially bomber drones, which prove highly effective in the dense vegetation of the wetlands. They allow Ukrainian fighters to strike enemy personnel hidden in cover, positions that conventional artillery or infantry simply cannot reach.
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Composite unit “Buzky Gard” in the Kherson region, Ukraine — August 15, 2025. Photo: Margarita Fal / Frontliner
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Russian forces continue their attempts to seize and hold islands in the delta, pushing in with reconnaissance-assault groups, digging shelters, and preparing bridgeheads. But in such a fluid landscape, any position can quickly turn into a trap. It is precisely in this shifting environment that “Buzky Gard” has learned to operate — not along fixed frontlines, but in the seams, breaking the enemy’s usual logic of war.
Author: Marharyta Fal
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