Ukraine appears to be calling up a fleet of fire-breathing “dragon drones” in the war against Russian invaders, putting a modern twist on a munition used to horrific effect in both world wars.
A series of videos posted on social media, including Telegram, by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday (4), show low-flying drones dropping torrents of fire – in fact, molten metal – on Russian-held positions in tree lines.
The incandescent mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide, called thermite, burns at temperatures of up to 2,200°C (4,000°F). It can quickly burn trees and vegetation, covering Russian troops, if it does not kill or incapacitate them outright.
When falling from the drone, the thermite resembles the fire that comes out of the mouth of the dragon, a mythical being, giving the drones their nickname.
“Attack drones are our wings of revenge, bringing fire straight from the sky!” said a social media post by Ukraine’s 60th Mechanized Brigade.
“They become a real threat to the enemy, burning their positions with a precision that no other weapon can achieve,” the post continued.
“When our ‘Vidar’ works – Russian women will never sleep,” he added. Vidar is the Norse god of vengeance.
Creating this kind of fear is likely the main effect of Ukraine’s thermite drones, according to Nicholas Drummond, a defense industry analyst specializing in ground warfare and a former British Army officer.
“It’s a very unpleasant thing. Using a drone to deliver this [o terror] is quite innovative. But used in this way, its effect must have been more psychological than physical,” Drummond told CNN .
“I understand that Ukraine only has a limited capability to cause a thermite effect, so this is a niche capability and not a new conventional weapon,” he said.
But he recognizes the terror that termite can create.
“I wouldn’t want to be the target,” Drummond said.
Incendiary weapons in war
Thermite can easily burn through almost anything, including metal, so there is little protection against it.
It was discovered by a German chemist in the 1890s and was originally used to weld railway rails.
But its military potency soon became apparent, with the Germans dropping it from zeppelins like bombs on Britain in World War I, according to a history from McGill University in Montreal.
Both Germany and the Allies used thermite aerial bombs in World War II and also used them to disable captured artillery pieces by placing thermite in the breech and melting the weapon from the inside.
According to Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a British anti-war advocacy group, Ukraine has already used drone-dropped thermite to permanently disable Russian tanks.
Thermite is released “directly through the hatches, where the intense heat quickly ignites and destroys everything inside,” an AOAV report says.
“This precision, combined with the drone’s ability to bypass traditional defenses, makes thermite bombs a highly effective tool in modern warfare,” he says.
Thermite is just one type of incendiary weapon, with others including napalm and white phosphorus.
The United Nations Office for Disarmament says incendiary weapons can cause massive destruction and environmental damage.
“Fires produced by or ignited by the weapon itself are difficult to predict and contain. Therefore, incendiary weapons are often described as ‘area weapons’ because of their impact over a wide area,” it says on its website.
The US used napalm to burn much of Japan’s capital to the ground in the infamous Tokyo fire raids of World War II. US forces also used it extensively in Vietnam.
The U.S. military has used thermite in grenades, with the U.S. Army’s Pine Bluff Arsenal producing the weapons from the 1960s to 2014, resuming production again in 2023.
What termites do to humans
Under international law, thermite is not banned in military combat, but its use on civilian targets is prohibited due to the horrific effects it can have on the human body.
In a 2022 report on incendiary weapons like thermite, Human Rights Watch called them “notorious for their terrible human toll,” including fourth- or fifth-degree burns.

“They can cause damage to muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, blood vessels and even bones,” HRW said.
Treatment can last months and requires daily care. If victims survive, they are left with physical and psychological scars, HRW said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Moscow’s initial advance into Ukraine was halted long before it captured the capital Kiev, and the sides fought over much of the same territory for most of the war.
Ukraine’s forces, outnumbered and outgunned by Russia, have proven adept at innovating with small drones to attack Moscow’s troops and equipment.
A Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory near Kursk in August surprised Putin and boosted Ukrainian confidence that it could prevail in the war.
Kiev has accused Russian forces of using unspecified incendiary munitions against civilian targets early in the war, including a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in May 2022.
Nick Paton Walsh, from CNN passed through the village, Cherkaski Tyshky, shortly after a Russian attack and described a scene of “houses, fields and even the air itself, set on fire.”
Ukrainian officials have also accused Russia of using firebombs in attacks on the town of Bakhmut last year.
These uses of incendiary weapons have not led to a quick victory for Russia, and Drummond does not believe they will be a radical change on the battlefield for Ukraine either.
“If Ukraine wants to achieve real impact, it needs enough mass to force a proper breakthrough like it did at Kursk. That’s what victory looks like,” Drummond said.
But thermite gives Russian troops another reason to fear Ukrainian drones, he said.
“We have seen cases where Russian forces attacked by multiple drones have deserted their positions. The more Ukraine can instill fear of drones, the greater its chances of success,” he said.
“Thermite keeps the pressure on.”
Here’s what we know about Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory
This content was originally published in “Dragon drones”: Ukraine’s new weapon rains molten metal on Russian troops on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil

Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.