Another Russian Pokrovsk Motorbike Attack Annihilated As Riders Fail Ditch Jump

While some western coverage of the war purports to claim that Russia's use of motorcycles is resulting in some gains, the larger assessment of Russia's failed attempts to achieve operational goals and take significant Ukrainian territory suggests that this is another desperate effort to make any sort of headway but is largely failing. JL

Brendan Cole reports in Newsweek:

Russian forces have been increasingly using unarmored civilian vehicles, including motorcycles, in assaults throughout Ukraine since the second half of 2024. The ISW said it had started observing Russian forces consistently using motorcycles to transport infantry in the Kharkiv, Chasiv Yar, and Zaporizhia directions from the middle of last year. Drone footage showed a Russian soldier on a motorcycle racing toward a trench. The soldier is unable to clear the divide and can be seen hitting the bank on the other side. The clip then cuts to the soldier lying next to the motorcycle.

video has gone viral of what purports to be an attempt by a Russian soldier on a motorcycle trying and failing to leap a trench line.

"Russian motorcycle assault did not go according to plan," pro-Ukrainian account Special Kherson Cat wrote on social media next to the 15-second video of the soldier accelerating toward the gap in the field and failing to clear it to the other side.

Newsweek could not independently verify the footage and reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

Why It Matters

Russian forces have been increasingly using unarmored civilian vehicles, including motorcycles, in assaults throughout Ukraine since the second half of 2024.

 

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a May 7 report that Russian forces are using motorcycles to penetrate Ukrainian lines. However, Ukrainian media have reported failures in the maneuvers.

What To Know

Special Kherson Cat regularly posts videos about the Russia-Ukraine war on X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky. On Thursday, the account shared undated drone footage taken from an unspecified location, which it said showed a Russian soldier on a motorcycle racing toward the gap.

The soldier is unable to clear the divide and can be seen hitting the bank on the other side. The clip then cuts to the soldier lying next to the motorcycle.

Newsweek has not embedded the video due to its graphic nature. As of Thursday afternoon, it had received over 100,000 views on X.

 

A member of Ukraine's 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade in the Donetsk Region on May 1, 2025. GENYA SAVILOV/Getty Images

It is the latest video showing Russian troops using motorbikes on the frontline.

On May 5, Ukraine's National Guard released a clip it said showed how it used drones to rebuff a Russian motorcycle onslaught of troops trying to plant their flag on the ruins of a building. The video ends with the bodies of wounded or dead Russian soldiers lying next to their motorcycles.

The previous week, Ukrainian drones destroyed nearly a dozen Russian assault troops on motorcycles in the Kupyansk sector of the Kharkiv region, according to the State Border Guard Service, cited by the Kyiv Post.

 

The ISW said it had started observing Russian forces consistently using motorcycles to transport infantry in the Kharkiv, Chasiv Yar, and Zaporizhia directions from the middle of last year. Forbes reported this month that Russia's motorcycle assault tactics sometimes work and have helped Russian regiments nudge the front line in eastern Ukraine a mile or so to the west.

 

What People Are Saying

Special Kherson Cat on X and BlueSky: "Russian motorcycle assault did not go according to plan."

The Institute for the Study of War on May 7: "Russian forces are frequently using motorcycles to penetrate Ukrainian lines and advance in the Kupyansk, Siversk, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Velyka Novosilka directions."

 

What Happens Next

The ISW assessment this month said that Russia is increasing its use of motorcycles in response to constant Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian armored vehicles, which have caused high losses of equipment.