Fiber-optic cables used to guide drones are blanketing Ukraine’s front line. Researchers are only beginning to understand their environmental impact.

The Russia-Ukraine war has long been called a “war of drones.” Now, the fiber-optic cables that guide many of those drones are piling up across the front line.

Impossible to clear while the fighting continues, they’ve become traps for birds and other wildlife, while the cables themselves — along with the lithium batteries left behind by destroyed drones — could have lasting consequences for the environment.

Meduza explains how a transparent web has spread across the battlefield and what it could mean long after the war ends.