After 4 years of war in Ukraine, the front line appears frozen. While Russia seeks to prolong the conflict by exhausting Ukrainian defenses through what the capital, Kiev, calls the “thousand bites” tactic.

Published on: 02/23/2026 - 14:25

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Russia relied on slow, painful bleeding rather than a fatal blow. After 4 years of war, the Russians adopted what the Ukrainians called the “a thousand bites” or “a thousand scratches” tactic.

“We started hearing about this tactic since the summer of 2025,” explains Erik Stegenman, a specialist in military security issues in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war at the Netherlands Institute for International Relations Kling Ndael.

Small but effective units

For its part, the Ukrainian news agency Uniyan wrote in September 2025 that the “thousand bites” technique revealed “the serious problems that the Ukrainian army suffers from.”

The Ukrainian news site Telegraph also asked in the same month whether these “new” tactics would allow “breaking Ukrainian defences.” It is a term used even by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Sirsky.

As for Veronica Hinman, a specialist in international relations and Russian affairs at the University of Portsmouth, she in turn confirmed that the matter is in fact “an old tactic used by the Soviet army during World War II, and then adapted to the requirements of the current conflict.”

While Eric Steinman explained that it is small Russian military detachments that carry out these “thousand attacks” after they succeed in infiltrating the Ukrainian defenses, noting that these groups “usually consist of two or three soldiers, because this makes it easier for them to avoid detection by the Ukrainians.”

The number of members of these groups can reach a maximum of 10 fighters. Because the goal is to maintain as much secrecy as possible, while maintaining a sufficient number of fighters to ensure that they control the situation without anything escaping their notice.

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This tactic has gradually gained increasing importance throughout 2025. According to an analysis published by the Atlas Institute of International Affairs, a North American think tank, “these small Russian units played a decisive role during the Battle of Pokrovsk” (a city located about 50 kilometers from the Donetsk region), one of the most violent confrontations of the past year.

Testing and exhausting Ukrainian defenses

Starting in October 2025, the Russian army intensified its incursions behind Ukrainian lines in Pokrovsk thanks to these small groups of fighters. With repeated "bites", the Ukrainian forces were forced to retreat further and further.

This military tactic has largely allowed Russia to declare control over this city in the Donetsk region, although the Ukrainians, for their part, confirm that they still control part of it.

Russian soldiers are trying to follow the same method along the front, according to Veronica Hinman, who confirmed that “the plan is to send reconnaissance elements on exploratory missions to test the Ukrainian army’s defense lines with the aim of finding potential loopholes that can be exploited later, by sending larger combat units to achieve field breakthroughs.”

These soldiers carry with them thermal blankets, tents, and enough food supplies to last several days. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), in an analysis published in October 2025, notes that these units are designed to be able to be stationed unobtrusively behind front lines for several days to carry out reconnaissance missions.

If during these missions these soldiers can eliminate some Ukrainian defenders, so much the better.

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In this context, Eric Steinman emphasized that "even if the Russians lost a greater number of soldiers during these operations than the Ukrainians, they are able to bear greater losses than their opponent."

Meanwhile, Will Kingston-Cox, a specialist on Russian affairs and the Ukrainian war at the International Study on Security (ITSS) based in Verona, Italy, added that these “thousand bites do not necessarily lead to territorial gains for the Russians.”

He continued: "This tactic reflects a noticeable development in the mentality of the Russian army. It no longer plans to control a Ukrainian city on a daily basis, but rather to force the Ukrainians to remain in a constant state of alert along a defense line extending more than a thousand kilometers. This is an extremely exhausting matter."

Eric Steinman believes that this approach "can be considered a forced tactic by an army that is forced to admit its inability to strike a decisive blow against Ukraine." According to analyst Veronica Hinman, the reasons are due to the heavy presence of drones on the front.

While Will Kingston-Cox added, "Large concentrations of Russian forces have become easy to monitor by these aircraft and then target them with artillery strikes."

A tactic to prolong the war

For his part, Eric Steinman stressed that the "thousand bites" strategy followed by Russia accurately reflects the nature of the conditions on the battlefield in 2025.

In the context of a long and energy-draining war, this approach allows Russia to prolong the conflict. Which is in her interest. It is also betting on its ability to continue the war until victory is achieved.

In addition, repeated and limited Russian military incursions force Ukrainian defenses each time to respond, which gradually leads to the depletion of its ammunition stock.

This tactic also gives Moscow political gains. Since the summer of 2025, photos have been published showing soldiers raising the Russian flag in the middle of Ukrainian villages, giving the impression that Russia has taken control of these areas.

But in reality, these Russian incursions do not last long and Ukraine does not find it difficult to take down the Russian flag that is left in place without anyone to defend it.

On the other hand, the image allows “to give the impression that Russia is advancing,” as Eric Steinman says. As for Veronica Hinman, she considered that this plan is being used as a “very powerful propaganda tool.”

In the context of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, these images give the impression that the Russians are the ones advancing on the ground and therefore are in a position of strength.

But Ukraine has begun to adapt to these tactics, according to Eric Steinman, who said, “The Ukrainian army has increasingly begun to use technological solutions such as ground drones on defense lines with the aim of reducing human losses associated with these incursions.”

Will Kingston-Cox concluded: “Ukraine has intensified its deep strikes against Russian military and energy facilities to make the war of attrition equally painful for Moscow.” However, every “bite” Russia inflicts leaves traces on the Ukrainian war effort.

Sebastian Seibt

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