French fishing nets serve as shield against Russian drones

French fishermen from Brittany are finding a new use for discarded deep-sea fishing nets - sending them to Ukraine as protection against Russian drones. So far, the volunteer organisation Kernic Solidarités has sent two shipments of nets with a total length of 280 kilometres.

The thick horsehair nets have proven to be an effective barrier, as the propellers of attack drones become entangled in them like flies in a spider's web.

The lifetime of a deep-sea net is 12 to 24 months, after which it wears out and cannot be repaired.

Ukrainian forces use them to cover trenches, vehicles or to build tunnels along the front line. Drone warfare has become a key element of the conflict and Ukraine faces hundreds of these attacks every day. Swedish and Danish fishermen have also contributed hundreds of tonnes of nets.

Gérard Le Duff, president of the organisation, pointed out that recycling nets is becoming increasingly difficult, and if they can save lives, their use in Ukraine makes sense. Even if they no longer have the funds for more supplies, he hopes that the Ukrainians will come for the nets themselves.

(max)