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Design That Saves Lives: Reused Fishing Nets Protecting Frontline Roads in Ukraine

This step focuses on a remarkable and recent case study in material repurposing, where discarded fishing equipment from Northern Europe is being used as a crucial, low-tech defense against Russian drone attacks in Ukraine.

Discarded industrial fishing nets from Swedish and Danish fishermen, rendered useless by EU environmental rules, are now being sent to Ukraine via non-profits like Operation Change. These bulky nets, initially meant for camouflage, are repurposed to counter deadly Russian FPV kamikaze drones. This ingenious low-tech defense aims to protect logistics routes and personnel from the continuous aerial threat.

In the video here, you see how the anti-drone netting is set up and works.

The Ukrainian military is actively deploying anti-drone nets along critical routes, confirming their value as a life-saving defense measure. They have noted a significant drop in successful enemy attacks where these barriers are installed, stating that the nets “are now being installed everywhere on the roads of the Donetsk region”. This urgent logistical effort is driven by a massive volunteer initiative, primarily supported by the generosity of European fishermen, who have successfully delivered hundreds of tons of nets to the country.

The humanitarian and military significance of this effort is recognized at the highest levels, prompting engagement from the European Parliament. Members have formally asked the European Commission to clarify the European Waste Shipment Regulation. The goal is to facilitate the easier and quicker export of these ‘end-of-life’ nets to Ukraine, acknowledging the critical and life-saving value of this repurposed material for the nation’s defense.

Mechanism of Protection

The nets provide a simple yet effective physical defense against these aerial threats:

Drone Entanglement: The nets are strung across roads, creating protective ‘anti-drone corridors’ or ‘tunnels’ that stretch for miles. An attacking drone’s propellers get tangled in the mesh, causing the drone to halt or crash before reaching its target.
Blast Mitigation: For tactical vehicles, nets are mounted on metal bars around a meter away from the car body. If an FPV drone strikes the net, the net reduces the impact and absorbs much of the explosive blast fragmentation, creating a stand-off effect that has been credited with saving lives.
Wider Application: The concept has expanded beyond fishing nets to include other repurposed materials, such as durable Dutch tulip nets, demonstrating the effectiveness of the physical barrier concept.

Further reading, learning and references

AFP – Ukraine covers roads in anti-drone netting as attacks intensify https://uppsala.instructuremedia.com/embed/fa236411-5d53-4915-addb-b9c48ce68435

Chapple, A. (2025). On Ukraine’s Front Lines, Swedish Fishing Nets Are Saving Lives.Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty https://www.rferl.org/a/swedish-fishermen-nets-ukraine-drones-russia-invasion/33551420.html

OperationChange https://operation-change.org/

Geneva Graduate Institute – The Future of Humanitarian Design https://humanitarian.design/

© Daniel Mossberg, CEMUS, Uppsala University and Sonali Phadke, studio Alternatives and Stephanie Foote