Why Ukraine’s forces are turning to militarized e-scooters for combat runs

Ukraine’s special operations forces and other front-line troops are using an unconventional ride for slipping past Russian lines, ferrying supplies, and dodging drones, a Baltic scooter maker says.

The Mosphera military e-scooters used by Ukrainian operators are made by Latvian firm Global Wolf Motors, are about twice the size of a regular scooter, and have motorcycle tires, Klāvs Ašmanis, the founder and CEO, told Business Insider.

These nimble, off-road e-scooters can hit 62 mph, cover up to 186 miles on a single battery charge, and weigh just 163 pounds, making them easier to handle than heavier bikes.

Ašmanis said they can make deliveries to the front lines, do reconnaissance in Russia-held territory, and quickly evacuate lightly wounded troops, among other missions, and Ukraine is putting them to work.

These atypical combat vehicles offer quiet mobility across varied terrain, but there aren’t many of them in Ukraine, at least for the time being. Latvia, a NATO ally that borders Russia and a key Ukrainian partner nation, donated four scooters in 2023 alongside other equipment. Ašmanis said Ukraine now has 11 of the scooters and that units have asked for more. It’s unclear if it will receive additional scooters.

Business Insider reached out to the Latvian defense ministry but did not receive a response on plans for future deliveries.

The scooters were initially designed for use on military bases, border patrol, and reconnaissance, but their use in Ukraine showed the company they had even more uses in real war. “We were surprised by what they were truly capable of,” the CEO said.

Ukrainian soldiers brought them to the front lines and inside occupied territory held by Russia.

Ašmanis said the scooters offer advantages over other vehicles being used in this war. For instance, they are smaller and lighter than traditional vehicles, they don’t drown out the buzzing sound of drones, they’re easier to quickly bail out of in an emergency, and the scooters don’t require risking a car, truck, or other vehicle that could be packed with gear for other missions on quick, daring dashes.

He said they excel in forested areas. “Its e-scooter-style wheelbase makes it easy to weave between trees” and trails, while its 163-pound weight “means that if it does get stuck, it’s far easier to pull out compared to a motorcycle.”

They’re also far easier to hide when not in use, in bushes or under branches.

Scooter wars

The combat scooters aren’t unique to Ukrainian forces. The Russians have employed e-scooters in fast-moving, dispersed “scooter assaults.” Ukrainian officers have said these tactics make it harder to take out large numbers of troops at once with drones or artillery, though they’re far from unstoppable.

Ašmanis said his vehicles are better suited to conflict than typical e-scooters, describing them as “in the middle between scooter and motorcycle” because it has much larger wheels, like motorcycles do, than regular scooters.

Scooter use reflects a broader shift in the war: both sides are scrambling for small, fast, flexible vehicles to supplement traditional combat machines. Troops have been turning to alternatives to systems like tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, though those are still used, and heading into battle in civilian pickup trucks, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), motorcycles, scooters, and more.

Troops have even ridden bicycles in this war.

Rides like scooters are useful because they’re relatively cheap, replaceable, and easy to hide, which is important in a conflict where larger, more expensive, and classically louder vehicles may be spotted and destroyed.

But scooters also come with limitations. Riders are exposed, offering little to no protection beyond their personal kit from shrapnel, small-arms fire, or harsh weather. Electric scooters are also highly dependent on batteries, which may not perform as well under certain conditions.

Ukraine needs vehicles

Most vehicles come with drawbacks, though. Motorcycles are fast but noisy. Ukraine’s Lt. Col. Pavlo Shamshyn, the spokesperson for the Kharkiv Group of Forces, said earlier this year that Russia’s motorcycles proved advantageous for Ukraine because the loud noise drowned out the sound of incoming drones. Armored vehicles are protected and often feature heavy firepower, but these are also higher-priority targets. These multi-million-dollar systems have been wrecked by cheap drones throughout the war.

Ukraine has been using whatever vehicles it can, from Western tanks like the American-made M1 Abrams to civilian pickup trucks equipped with .50 caliber machine guns. One Ukrainian unit created a motorcycle attack company earlier this year that is designed to quickly break through Russian positions.

There’s a constant demand for vehicles, both military and civilian, on both sides of the war, which is chewing through weaponry.

Ukrainian military units and volunteer groups hold crowdfunding campaigns to get cars and other vehicles to soldiers, with some supporters buying them in other European countries and driving them into Ukraine.

Scooters are just one of the options in the mix. Like small drones, militarized pickups, and other improvised gear, they underscore how Ukraine and Russia are adapting anything they can to survive this grinding fight.

The post Why Ukraine’s forces are turning to militarized e-scooters for combat runs appeared first on Business Insider.