The recordings from the front in Ukraine show a characteristic detail: colored straps of tape on helmets, sleeves, sometimes on guns. It's not a coincidence or an ornament. A belt like this can decide life.
Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to usage mass tapes at the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Russia. The problem was prosaic: the uniforms of both sides were very similar. The same kind of camouflage, akin equipment, frequently besides equipment originating from the times of the USSR. In the field, especially in the city or in the forest, it was hard to tell at first glance who was who.
Find a difference. Photo: YT / archive. Click to enlarge.The necklaces or flags didn't always help. They were small, obscured by vests, or simply invisible in moving or in weak light. Hence the thought of something simpler. Colored tape, wide and well visible. Sticked on his arm, leg, helmet. Sometimes a fewer stripes at once. 1 look is adequate to admit “your own”.
Ukrainian soldiers most frequently usage yellow, blue and green. Photo: YT / archive. Click to enlarge.Colors aren't random. On different sections of the front can mean circumstantial branches or directions of action. They besides change. If the opponent starts utilizing the same markings, they lose meaning. Therefore, the marking strategy is flexible.
Marking soldiers. Source: 1tum.n / YT. Click on the image to view the video.This solution has 1 fundamental advantage: it works always. In war conditions, it's worth more than advanced technology.
Colorful tapes can be seen on most front material today. They became 1 of the symbols of this war. They show that the simplest things are crucial in a border situation that avoid confusion. See video: ⇒
→ Ed.
2.05.2026
• photograph / source: YT / archive
• more about Ukraine: > Here.
