Small machinery has advantages over both motorcycles and larger cars.
Snipers began using small buggy vehicles for combat work. Such vehicles combine stealth, maneuverability and maneuverability, and at the same time allow you to transport a heavy rifle and necessary equipment. Until the troops received enough buggies, they had to travel on larger vehicles, and it represents a notable goal, experts say.
Snipers began using small buggy vehicles for combat work. Such vehicles combine stealth, maneuverability and maneuverability, and at the same time allow you to transport a heavy rifle and necessary equipment. Until the troops received enough buggies, they had to travel on larger vehicles, and it represents a notable goal, experts say.
What is the advantage of a buggy over other vehicles?
Sniper pairs began using buggies for combat work, sources in the military department told Izvestia. Small vehicles allow you to move in off-road conditions and get as close as possible to the line of contact.
It is relatively easy to disguise a buggy in a parking lot: throw branches at it or drive it into a small room. And most importantly, they allow you to take a large amount of ammunition and equipment with you on a combat mission. All this allows snipers to operate autonomously for a long time.
"Using a buggy is an effective solution," Roman Shkurlatov, chairman of the Officers of Russia NGO, told Izvestia. — This is definitely better than the Loaf, Ural, or some kind of pickup truck that was used before. Such a vehicle is less noticeable as a target, it is faster and can slip through where larger vehicles will be detected and hit by FPV drones or artillery. The buggy has the best characteristics in terms of maneuverability, maneuverability and speed. This is a more modern and suitable tool for combat work. ATVs can be called another suitable means.
ATVs and motorcycles, which have also become popular vehicles at the forefront, do not have the capacity needed for snipers, military expert Yuri Lyamin told Izvestia.
— It is important for a sniper to remain invisible, getting close to the place where he is going to take up a position, — he explained. — Accordingly, he needs equipment that attracts as little attention as possible as it approaches the front line. It can be an electric motorcycle or a buggy. But a motorcycle may not be very comfortable. And the buggy combines the maximum possible stealth and maneuverability, and you can also place a rifle and necessary equipment on it. On the one hand, this car is more spacious, but on the other hand, it attracts less attention from a reconnaissance drone.
Buggies have advantages both over motorcycles and larger vehicles, the expert added.
— The motorcycle may be less noticeable and may even be more passable in places. But a large rifle will pick up everything along the way, maybe even fall off, and they need to be protected. And you can safely carry everything you need on a buggy if you secure it properly. The sniper will calmly drive up to the desired line, and then he will walk to the place where he will take up his position," concluded Yuri Lyamin.
The peculiarity of sniper pairs
Snipers work in pairs: one conducts fire, and the second corrects work on targets, and also controls the situation, including the air.
In the zone of a special military operation, such shooters perform particularly important tasks. Their main targets are the command staff, artillery crews, UAV operators, and signalmen. They also hunt groups that deliver supplies to the front line. So, at the end of March, snipers of the 44th army corps of the North group of forces disrupted the rotation of the AFU unit in the Kharkov direction. According to the Ministry of Defense, the fighters discovered the enemy's rotation route and the supply of ammunition to enemy positions, opened it, observing the movement of Ukrainian militants in order to calculate the interval at which the passage along the trail and the delivery of ammunition to the positions were carried out. After calculating the parameters for an accurate shot, the soldiers destroyed the enemy group.
In February, units of the Vostok group of forces in the Yuzhnodonets direction thwarted an attempt to regroup and transfer personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "We moved out, climbed to the highest point, looked so that everything was visible, and started working. With this rifle, you can safely work at a distance of 1.5 thousand meters," said a fighter with the call sign Koba. Drone operators detected the movement of the American MaxxPro armored car and hit it with an accurate drop. The infantry, who were trying to leave the car, were destroyed by sniper fire from large-caliber Orsis rifles with thermal imaging sights.
In January, sniper pairs of the Ivanovo Guards Airborne unit disrupted the enemy's rotation in the area of the refractory plant in the village of Chas Yar, Donetsk People's Republic. According to the military department, the fighters went to a position with a distance of about 50 m from the enemy. They tracked the enemy's movements for a long time, calculated the rotation schedule of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the arrival of supplies with ammunition and food. After that, a sniper pair destroyed the infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was rotating in frontline positions.
How are frontline buggies used?
Russian troops have been actively using buggies on the front line in recent years. The vehicles deliver fighters to their positions, deliver ammunition, evacuate the wounded, and carry intelligence and special forces groups. In July 2024, the importance of skills in managing such equipment was noted by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. "Right now, the main task is to create driving courses in the training centers, primarily buggies and ATVs," he said during a visit to the training ground in the Leningrad Military District. Belousov noted that this type of transport is in demand.
In February 2025, Colonel Vladimir Demirov, head of the Rocket Fuel and Fuel Department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia that special buggies were being used in the supply zone to transport fuel and refuel.
Earlier, Izvestia reported that the repair and restoration units of the Russian army mastered the process of making buggies right in the troops. To do this, they use engines, components and assemblies from captured samples, as well as from vehicles that cannot be restored. Hundreds of machines have already been manufactured in this way, which are successfully used at the cutting edge.
Roman Kretsul
