Ukraine appears to have in its possession a new drone which spits fire. A viral battlefield video posted to the internet early this week shows the moment a Ukrainian ‘flamethrowing drone’ unleashed hot thermite on Russian defensive positions down below. Many commenters have compared it to a dragon upon viewing the clip.

A huge and terrifying flame rains down on a forested position, instantly catching bushes, shrubs, and trees on fire – presumably to flush out Russian soldiers reportedly using the location to conceal their location. The video was initially posted by the 108th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade to social media, and was captioned “Drakaris”—in reference to the dragons in the popular series “Game of Thrones”.

Thermite, which is presumably what the UAV is shooting toward Russian positions, is a mix of iron oxide and magnesium, and is able to reach 2,400 Celsius. It can instantly set alight and melt almost anything in its path. Currently, there’s speculation that this is likely some kind of improvised home-made drone apparatus which clearly has very limited time to unleash its fiery payload. One analyst, Chay Bowes, has written that “War accelerates innovation, and the Ukrainian conflict has transformed the use of drones as weapons in particular.” Watch the ‘fire-breathing’ drone in action below:

Eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian drone drops molten thermite on a Russian-held treeline, setting it ablaze. pic.twitter.com/LWKDj3NGpz

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 2, 2024