Russo-Ukrainian War: Russian Sniper Decoy

Source: Military Informant

     The Russo-Ukrainian War is notable for the relatively widespread use of decoys with the Ukrainians making significant usage of decoys that mimic high value targets. Such targets include the M142 HIMARS, the MIM-104 Patriot, and NASAMS. Decoys which have seen deployment include artillery pieces, IFVs, tanks, missile batteries, and even decoy drones. The intent of decoys in the current battlefield in Ukraine is to lure in drones and cause the enemy to expend them on the decoys and not the actual weapon systems. However, they can also be used to deceive enemy intelligence in regards to troop disposition and strength. More rarely seen is the use of decoy soldiers and in this photograph, appearing in social media in March 2025, Russian soldiers have created a decoy sniper and set it up in a damaged building. Some may question the logic of expending the effort to create this decoy but Major John L. Plaster, USAR (Ret.) in his book The Ultimate Sniper provides the likely purpose: counter-sniping.

     As the name suggests, counter-sniping is the methodology of locating and eliminating an enemy sniper. Plaster devotes an entire chapter in his book on techniques that can be used to locate an opposing sniper and then engage him. One of these techniques is the use of decoys. The purpose of a decoy is to fool the enemy sniper into firing on it which then betrays his location and allows the counter-sniper to engage. This is because the counter-sniper positions his decoy and understands the likely avenues in which the enemy sniper may take the decoy under fire. As such, the counter-sniper actively surveils these avenues and if the bait is taken, he can quickly seek and eliminate the opposing sniper following the shot.

     However, Plaster makes it clear that decoys are no guarantee, stating “...do not forget that your opponent is a breathing, thinking human being with intelligence and determination just like you.” What this means is that no matter how much effort is put into making a realistic decoy, it may not fool the enemy sniper. Or the very decoy in question could be there to lure a counter-sniper. Plaster says that the sniper needs to assess the situation in that, does it make sense for a sniper to be located in the area. Also, he goes on to say that “if the shooting opportunity looks too good to be true, it probably is.” It should be pointed out since the mannequin generates no heat, in night operations where thermal imagers would be used, the decoy may not even be visible as it will match the background temperature.  To remedy that, somehow, the mannequin would need to have a heat source when the air temperature is cold. Another concern would be if a sniper is using quality optics, the crudeness of the “rifle” may be evident and thus the decoy would be ignored. A better option would have been to utilize a genuine, though non-functional, rifle for authenticity and and make it believable.