French fishing nets find new purpose on Ukraine's front lines

"Once used to scoop fish from the sea off the coast of France, recycled fishing nets are finding new life in Ukraine to protect the country's roads and military infrastructure from Russian drone attacks. "It smells like rotten fish," joked Christian Abaziou, 70, as he picked up a piece of used netting at Roscoff port in western Brittany's Finistere department. He and his fellow volunteer Gerard Le Duff, 63, members of the Kernic Solidarites association, were awaiting a delivery of used nets."

""When we started humanitarian convoys three years ago, drones weren't part of the picture at all," said Gerard, the association's president. But the war has evolved, "and now it's a drone war". 'Proud' to help Russia's drone arsenal used against Ukraine includes small flying devices identical to those sold commercially, but equipped with explosives and capable of striking more than 25 km from the front line."

"To defend against them, Ukrainians have been covering roads with nets mounted on poles, stretching for hundreds of kilometres. As drones approach, they get trappedlike insects in a spider's web. When Abaziou learned of this new tactic, he quickly got in touch with a retired fisherman. "Within 48 hours, I had all the fishing nets I needed," he said. "It's from the heart," said Jean-Jacques Tanguy, 75, former president of the Finistere fisheries committee."

Volunteers and former fishermen in Brittany collect used fishing nets, stuff them into bags and load them into trucks bound for Ukraine. Convoys have already transported long stretches of netting, including shipments of 120 kilometres and 160 kilometres. Ukrainian defenders mount the nets on poles to cover roads for hundreds of kilometres so approaching drones become entangled. Russian forces deploy small commercially identical drones fitted with explosives that can strike over 25 km from the front line. Donors and fishermen express pride that discarded nets are now repurposed to help protect lives and infrastructure.

Read at www.thelocal.fr