The modified motorbikes, along with other similarly altered light vehicles seen on the battlefield, represent a shift in Russian tactics and suggest Moscow’s forces are struggling to find appropriate vehicles.
In April, the state-run TV channel Russia-1 broadcast a feature explaining how motorbikes are used to attack Ukrainian positions in coordination with artillery and drone reconnaissance.
The bikes were intended to outrun drone bombs and quickly overwhelm enemy defences, but they offer virtually no protection against small arms or accurate artillery fire.
Ukrainian forces have since released multiple videos that they say show successful attacks on motorcycle-riding Russian infantry.
In one case in May, Ukraine’s 79th Air Assault Brigade said that it destroyed eight motorbikes during a single battle.
According to a report in March by the open-source investigative project Oryx, Russia has lost more than 15,000 vehicles of different kinds in Ukraine.
‘Golf buggies’
Moscow was also criticised for using unprotected “golf buggies” for “wave assaults” on Ukrainian positions, after multiple videos surfaced showing attacks on troops in vehicles that resembled those used to transport clubs and players on the golf course.
In truth, the “golf buggies” were sturdier Chinese-made Desertcross all-terrain vehicles that Russia received in November 2023. However, they were expected to be used in rear areas, and not for direct assaults on enemy positions.
The use of motorbikes and buggies as assault vehicles is a novel military concept. Although bikes were used extensively by couriers and dispatch riders in the early 20th century, experiments with adding armour and heavy weapons were largely abandoned in the interwar period.