French fishers are turning tonnes of discarded nets into lifesaving protection on Ukraine’s front lines — a story of ingenuity, solidarity, and survival.
Donetsk, Ukraine — November 2025 | Along the wind-swept quays of Brittany, heaps of worn fishing nets once symbolized an environmental headache. Every year nearly 800 tonnes of nylon and horse-hair netting reached the end of its life cycle, destined for landfill or costly recycling plants.
Today,
those same nets are being repurposed to stop Russian drones over the
battlefields of eastern Ukraine.
Through
the Breton charity Kernic Solidarités, two convoys carrying a combined 280
kilometres of netting have reached Ukraine since early 2025. The material —
originally designed to withstand deep-sea impacts from powerful monkfish — now
hangs over trenches, roads, and hospitals, forming anti-drone canopies.
“What was once a waste problem has become a tool that saves lives,” says Gérard Le Duff, president of Kernic Solidarités and grandson of a local fisher.
⚙️ The Mechanics: How
a Fishing Net Becomes Armor
Russia’s
invasion has evolved into a “drone war,” according to Ukrainian commanders.
Cheap FPV (first-person-view) drones, often modified with small explosives,
hover and dive toward targets with precision.
To
counter them, soldiers stretch Breton nets between poles, creating tunnels and
covers that entangle propellers mid-flight — a low-tech answer to high-tech
weaponry.
“The strength of a monkfish hitting these nets is similar to a drone’s impact,” explains Christian Abaziou, the charity’s logistics coordinator. “That’s why they work.
What
began as protection for medical camps near the front has expanded to roads,
bridges, and hospitals. Ukrainian engineers have even begun attaching pieces of
the nets to their own drones to ensnare enemy aircraft mid-air — a literal web
of defense.
🤝
Humanitarian Engineering from Brittany
Kernic
Solidarités was born when a small group of Brittany residents, prompted by
local Ukrainians, began sending food, clothing, and medicine shortly after the
2022 invasion.
Two
years later, their convoys — driven 2,300 kilometres to the Polish border — now
include rolls of horse-hair netting once bound for scrapyards.
“We were told not all nets are useful,” Abaziou notes. “The Ukrainians need the deep-sea ones — thick and heavy. So we only send those.”
For
Le Duff, the initiative also addresses an environmental challenge: “Recycling
plants for fishing gear have closed. If these nets can instead protect
civilians, it’s the best recycling possible.”
🌐 A
European Chain of Solidarity
France
isn’t alone. Fishers from Sweden and Denmark have joined the effort, shipping
durable trawl nets through volunteer networks.
The
collaboration reflects a new kind of civilian diplomacy within Europe — one
that blends environmental stewardship with moral duty. While governments debate
arms deliveries, ordinary citizens find ways to help without weapons.
According
to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs, more
than 30 percent of EU fishing gear waste still lacks an effective recycling
path. The “Brittany model,” officials say, could inspire a circular-economy
framework for coastal communities.
🧠
Analysis: The New Civilian Frontline
The
transformation of fishing gear into anti-drone armor reveals a deeper shift in
modern warfare.
Where
industrial defense once dominated, civilian innovation is increasingly decisive
— from 3D-printed spare parts to open-source battlefield apps. The Breton nets
illustrate how local know-how and solidarity can fill tactical gaps left by
larger military systems.
Analysts
at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) note that since
2022, drone incidents in Ukraine have risen ten-fold, forcing rapid defensive
improvisation. “Simple, low-cost adaptations are becoming as critical as
advanced systems,” a recent SIPRI brief concluded
In the muddy outskirts of Kostiantynivka, soldiers now walk beneath canopies woven from French horse-hair nets — a fragile yet vital shield against the whine of approaching drones.
What
began as waste on a Breton dock has become a symbol of resilience and
creativity, linking fishers and fighters in a chain of quiet defiance.
“It’s astonishing that something so simple works so well,” Abaziou reflects.
Sometimes,
the most powerful defense is not born in a weapons lab — but in the hands of
ordinary people determined to protect life.
By:
María Pérez | Editor-in-Chief
Updated:
08 Nov 2025 18:00 UTC
This
article was written using verified information from Reuters, Kernic Solidarités
(Brittany), the French Ministry for Ecological Transition, Ukrainian MoD
communiqués (2024–2025), and European Commission DG MARE reports (2025).
All
data cross-checked on 08 Nov 2025.