Inha Pavlyi

Relatively recently, a new technology for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) appeared on the frontlines in Russia’s war in Ukraine: fiber-optic linked guidance. When a drone is launched forward into the air a thin fiber-optic thread unspools behind it, settling onto the ground. As a result, enormous webs of these threads remain, covering trees and ending up in the soil. Despite its effectiveness on the battlefield, the impact of this optical fiber on the environment is poorly understood to date.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is sometimes referred to as the “drone war”. Both sides actively use UAVs with various ranges and capabilities to destroy enemy positions. Thanks to drones, military forces can strike the enemy remotely without needing complex or expensive equipment. It also conserves human resources.

Optical fiber is a dielectric waveguide operating at optical frequencies. The waveguide transmits data, voice, and images by passing light through thin, transparent fibers. First-generation optical fiber came into use in the telecommunications industry in the 1970s. The technology has since become an integral part of computer technology, the Internet, and new generation mobile communications (4G, 5G).

As for fiber-optic drones (first-person-view or FPV drones), they have only been used on the frontlines for the last two years. These UAVs are connected to fiber-optics, which allows them to transmit a clearer image to the operator and operate longer. Most importantly, fiber-optic drones are immune to electronic warfare and jamming, making them more difficult to detect and destroy.

The technology is promising and is developing rapidly. Until recently, however, fiber-optics have mainly been imported. New laws passed by the Verkhovna Rada in June 2025 supporting tax and customs incentives for domestic manufacturers of fiber-optic drones should make the production of such systems in Ukraine cheaper and easier.

Fiber-optics and their impacts on the environment: What are the threats?

As they move toward their target, FPV drones leave behind trails of fiber-optic threads. As a result, fields in frontline areas are covered with white threads that are clearly visible in the sun. This undoubtedly has an impact on the environment.

Today, research into the environmental impact of fiber-optics operated drones is only just beginning. Maxim Soroka, an expert on environmental safety and science director of Dovkol Laboratory explained to UWEC, that this topic began to be studied in earnest only a year ago. Long-term research is needed to understand the effects of fiber-optics on soil, plants and animals. For now, we can only use our understanding of polymers (plastics) to speculate about the consequences.

The impact of plastic pollution from drones is being examined in foreign studies. In particular, this topic was discussed in an article entitled “Plastic pollution from fibre-optic drones may threaten wildlife for years” by the Conflict and Environmental Observatory (CEOBS). The publication notes that fiber-optic cable does indeed pose a great threat to animals, as it can entangle them, leading to the loss of limbs, suffocation, or starvation. Machines and people can become entangled as well.

The CEOBS article explains that the primary material used in cables is POF-PMMA—plastic optical fibers (POF) made from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)) which is quite stable. However, like most polymers, it degrades over time and can break down into nanoplastics. The author suggests that such degradation occurs more rapidly in active combat areas. Micro- and nanoscale PMMA particles can inhibit the growth of certain marine algae and agricultural crops. When burned, they release harmful gases, in particular carbon and nitrogen oxides.

Research by German ecologists has shown that microplastics can have the same negative consequences as drought on soils, a process described in an article in the Journal of Applied Ecology. Another study published in Environmental Science & Technology showed that microplastic pollution of soil not only harms microbial ecosystems and reduces crop yields, but also contributes to climate change by increasing emissions of the dangerous greenhouse gas nitrogen oxide.

According to other Ukrainian experts contacted by the author, fiber-optics are quite resistant to atmospheric phenomena—they do not corrode or disintegrate. In other words, they can lie in fields for decades until removed or recycled. This gives hope for the possibility of avoiding these specific long-term consequences in places where active work (e.g., agricultural) will not resume immediately.

Maxim Soroka notes that when fields are plowed, the soil containing fiber-optics will be churned, breaking the threads into small particles, which, he believes will not harm the environment or crops. But there is still a threat, namely the formation of microplastics. Soroka asserts that this will not be a significant problem for agricultural production either.

European environmentalists often accuse agricultural products from Ukraine of being “contaminated” due to the war. Optical fiber may become a future cause for complaint. Soroka nevertheless believes that even if microplastics are formed and pollute the soil, the impact on agricultural products will be minimal, especially for produce harvested above ground.

Alexander Vinyukov, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor of Agronomy, Director of the Donetsk State Agricultural Experimental Station, and Deputy Chairman of the Eastern Ukrainian Agricultural Advisory Service”, agrees.

Vinyukov says that he sees greater harm to the environment in the lithium batteries that power today’s drones. Few people talk about the lithium residues these drones leave in Ukrainian fields today, or about the volume of fiber-optics, but this is precisely what could become a problem.

“From the point of view of crop and vegetable production, the impact of microplastics will be minimal because plants do not use them. Plants consume various elements, both beneficial and harmful, through their root systems,” he says.

Such varied assessments by experts neatly illustrate that much remains to be learned about fiber-optics pollution in agriculture and in nature.

Fiber-optic nests

There are also documented cases of birds using these threads to build nests. It is reasonable to assume that other animals may also use it for this purpose.

In addition to this questionable “utility”, fiber-optics can pose a threat to wildlife. When it settles on trees en masse, it creates traps. There have already been cases where animals, often birds, get stuck and cannot free themselves. Some of them are rescued by Ukrainian military forces. One video circulates the Internet showing soldiers cutting threads to free birds.

Anti-drone nets pose a similar threat, and birds are regularly caught up in them. Armed forces sometimes must free them as well.

“Indeed, there have been cases where birds have built nests out of fiber-optic threads. Birds tend to use anything they can find to build their homes, which is quite logical from their point of view. fiber-optic cable is a fairly durable and inert material that does not rot or get damaged by insects, and a nest made of fiber-optic cable will serve as a home for a long time,” says Soroka. “There have also been cases where this “web”’ of fiber-optics have been found wrapped around the deer antlers, another physical risk for wildlife.” 

He notes that these fiber-optic threads are thin and light. Animals, even birds, can bite through it. An adult wolf, deer, or hare that gets tangled in a few strands has a chance of freeing itself. But if there is a large accumulation of the threads, animals may not be able to release themselves and could become exhausted and die.

Nataliia Hozak, director of Greenpeace Ukraine, shares this opinion. She says that only time will show the true impact of these fiber-optic materials on the environment. In a few years, the fiber’s behavior in ecosystems will be clearer: will it decompose in sunlight, sink into the forest floor, etc.

“This is a question for years, perhaps decades, to come,” Hozak notes. “We need to understand how the material behaves in the long term, including in changing weather conditions. Yes, there is a risk that animals will become entangled. But the main thing today is to figure out how to study the impacts of fiber-optics on large animals. The consequences may be negative, but we don’t know that yet. For now, we need to observe the consequences as much as possible and think about how to eliminate this unusual type of pollution in the future.”

How to deal with the consequences of fiber-optic pollution

It is quite logical to suppose that when the hostilities end, attention will be focused primarily on demining rather than clearing fiber-optic cables. Will fiber-optic cables interfere with the clearance of munitions? So far, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Donetsk region has reported that no fiber-optic cables have been found in areas surveyed by ordnance units. Thus, the question of the impacts of fiber-optics on demining remains open for further study.

In summary then, the impacts of fiber-optics on the environment requires further study. Interest in the topic has grown significantly over the past year, as researchers consider the consequences of such widespread use. For now, a few conclusions can be drawn. 

• Experts do not agree about the impact of fiber-optics on soils. So far, the most attention is being dedicated to the issue of microplastics formation and consequences for agricultural production. 
• Large and small animals can become entangled in webs of fiber-optic threads, a situation which could lead to exhaustion and death. If the cluster of fibers is small, a large animal may be able to free itself.
• The further impact of fiber-optics on the environment requires detailed study and observation. Particular attention should be paid to issues related to its chemical components, decomposition mechanisms, and transport pathways in food chains and the ecosystem as a whole.

In today’s high-tech world, optical fiber plays an important role in many areas of our lives—from telecommunications to medicine, art to industry, including the military. During the last two years of full-scale war in Ukraine, fiber-optic drones have also become an integral part of combat operations and continue to gain momentum—their specifications are constantly improving and supply rates to the combat zone are increasing. This represents a new potential threat of environmental pollution, although fiber-optic waste is not currently the biggest wartime problem for the Ukrainian environment. There are examples of far more catastrophic impacts, ranging from munitions to landmines, but it is clear that use of fiber-optics needs further observation and study.

Translated by Jennifer Castner

Main image source: euro-sd.com