Executive Summary 

Russian troops’ return* to using donkeys and horses in war, specifically along the Ukrainian front, likely signals ad hoc decision making in response to vehicle shortages. Despite recent evidence of Russian forces’ experimenting with alternative combat transportation, including horseback training, we have not seen evidence of a doctrinal shift towards traditional cavalry tactics. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ (UAV) precision strikes and surveillance abilities present a significant threat to traditional cavalry, likely preventing the return of broad or long-term use of equines on the battlefield, even though they demonstrate some advantages in modern warfare.

*The Soviet Union formally disbanded its horse cavalry in the early 1950’s as its military doctrine widely shifted to tanks and motorised vehicles. Though animal deployment in warfare is rare today, Grey Dynamics reports have documented the modern use of rats to detect landmines, canines to track enemy combatants and detect battlefield explosives, and elephants to provide logistical combat support.