Another Russian Armed Forces Penguin Has Been Killed In Ukraine

Russians have taken to wearing thermal ponchos to avoid drones that make them look like penguins. Unfortunately, their "invisibility cloaks" at night also make them obvious to spot in the daylight.
By Ed Scarce — January 30, 2026

The stupid thing about this is that those thermal ponchos may work to stop, or at least make it more difficult for Ukrainian thermal drones to spot them. But, for whatever reasons, the Russians have been wearing them during the day and out in open fields. That has proven to be unwise.

Source: Trench Art

For the second time in four days, Ukrainian drone operators spotted a Russian soldier trying to march across the snowy and tree-less no-man’s-land in Ukraine while wearing a thermal poncho.

A thermal poncho that kinda made him look like a penguin.

The Russian penguin trooper met the same fate as his penguin comrade from a few days ago. An explosive first-person-view drone swooped in and almost certainly killed him.

The whole episode would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. But the hilarity belies the soundness of the underlying tactic. Yes, a thermal penguin suit is funny. But it may also work.

Just not in broad daylight and out in the open.

Ukrainians, being Ukrainians, have already made the memes.

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