By Olha Hembik | 2025-05-01

WARSAW -- In a Ukrainian city near the front line, police have a new partner in the sky. Zaporizhzhia has become the country's first city to deploy drone patrols, part of a broader push to maintain order as war presses closer to civilian life.

The units, announced by the provincial police on April 18, have a goal: to uphold law and order. The drones have high-resolution video cameras to monitor threats and relay footage in real time, enabling faster analysis and quicker alerts to residents.

"In conditions where threats emerge unexpectedly, it is vital to implement new tools that provide speed, accuracy and efficiency," the police wrote on their Facebook page.

A patrol squad will use the aerial footage to detect suspicious individuals and objects and potential sabotage or reconnaissance activity.

An additional guarantee of order

Police in Zaporizhzhia have launched aerial drone patrols across four major recreation areas to strengthen public safety amid the ongoing war. The initiative covers the Khortytsia National Reserve, a 23.5-sq.-km island that makes up 10% of the city, as well as Dubovy Hay Central Park, Victory Park and Voznesenivsky Park, home to the Raduha cascade of fountains.

Officials describe the move as an important step in creating a secure, closely monitored environment.

"The effect from drone patrols will certainly be felt immediately. The main thing is that the mobile units responding to violations work efficiently," Ivan Matkovsky of Kyiv, deputy commander of a police patrol company, told Kontur.

Matkovsky previously patrolled Avdiivka, Donetsk province, until Russian forces occupied it in 2024. He noted the added psychological benefit of the drone patrols for local residents.

"Our people get used to everything, even war. Shahed drones don't scare the locals, and a police drone definitely won't," he said.

Monitoring large territories

Zaporizhzhia law enforcement is using Chinese-made DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise drones to patrol city streets, Militarnyi reported in April. The quadcopters have 4K cameras capable of high-resolution video, night filming and multiple recording modes, giving operators a detailed aerial view of monitored areas.

"These are actually very easy to use drones. Any patrol squad can quickly learn to operate them -- not just operate but also quickly detect threats and coordinate their actions from the air," Matkovsky said.

Authorities selected the Mavic 3 for its ability to avoid jamming, bypass obstacles and remain stable in densely wooded areas like the Khortytsia National Reserve. The drone can autonomously return to its launch point, charting the most efficient route back to base.

"This is a chance to monitor large areas in a short period without involving substantial human resources. Police will be able to receive timely information from any location," Matkovsky said.

Drones are especially useful for patrolling high-risk zones or conducting additional surveillance without putting officers in danger, he said.

In peacetime, Matkovsky noted, the drones could help manage security at concerts, protests and sporting events.

'Changing the course of the war'

Mavic quadcopters, often nicknamed "wedding drones" for their common civilian use in filming celebrations, have transformed the war effort, according to Yuri Filatov, drone system chief commander of the Ukrainian military's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

"Filling the skies with Mavics is an initiative that came from the grass roots. It was a need that arose spontaneously and in many cases was imparted by civilians who joined the army in 2022," Filatov said in an interview with TSN, noting that now every meter of the front is monitored from the air.

Aerial monitoring in front-line or unstable cities offers tactical advantages and enhances safety for both police and troops, Pavlo, a drone commander with the call sign Cupid, told Kontur.

But drone footage can be incomplete, he said. "There are situations where it's better to see with the naked eye than with a drone," he said.

For drones to cover an entire city, users must deploy multiple antennas, which can increase the workload for patrol squads and drive up costs. Equipping drones with night-vision and thermal cameras could improve visibility but would further raise expenses. "I don't know if this will be justified," Pavlo said.

Ukraine should primarily use drones to strike enemy targets on the battlefield, he said.

Constant monitoring of the sky

Lt. Gen. (ret.) Ihor Romanenko, former deputy chief of staff of the Ukrainian military, called for expanding the use of drones to monitor the sky. In an interview with Kontur, he said drones should play a larger role in detecting aerial threats, not just patrolling streets.

By integrating radar, acoustic sensors and video surveillance systems, drones like the Mavic can help form a network to identify and track hostile aircraft. Once a drone detects the direction of an incoming threat, it can relay exact coordinates to air defense systems using the Global Positioning System and laser rangefinders.

"I think we need to combine the use of these instruments and expand the functionality of drones to protect the sky," Romanenko said.

This approach is essential in front-line cities like Sumy, Kharkiv and Kherson, where civilians face constant danger from air strikes, he said.

Drones could monitor key infrastructure, power lines and military sites in areas farther from active fighting.

To strengthen this system, Romanenko proposed establishing joint command centers staffed by police and military air defense personnel.

"Joining the efforts of different entities under a single leadership will be efficient," he said. "That way, it'll be possible to boost security and public order in a given locality."