Cities as Battlegrounds: Evolving Nature of Modern Warfare

Urban cities, which were once the centres of commerce, civilisation, and culture, are now increasingly being transformed into battlegrounds of modern-day conflicts. Modern warfare is no longer confined to frontlines, but is now playing out more in densely populated urban spaces. From Kyiv and Gaza to Khartoum and Aleppo, urban cities have become spaces of warfare. This highlights the fact that the lines between war zones and civilian spaces are blurring. 

Illustration by The Geostrata

Cities are no longer just passive participants in times of conflict, but have become active sites of precision drone strikes to providers of digital platforms for misinformation campaigns, and from zones of mass protests to prolonged blockades.  

CITIES AS FRONTLINES

As an inevitable product of incessant urbanisation, most of the world's population now resides in cities. This demographic shift is accompanied by an increasing urbanisation of modern conflicts.  Further political power, economic activities, as well as civilian lives, are based in these cities, making them strategically very significant. 

Urban warfare significantly differs from traditional frontier conflict. Urban warfare takes place mostly in built-up city environments with dense infrastructure, narrow lanes, and tall buildings, which reduce visibility while offering advantages to the defender. Further, keeping in mind civilian lives, forces also need to prioritise minimising collateral damage. Combat in such warfare requires more precision, surveillance, unmanned weapons, and small-unit tactics. 

On the other hand, traditional frontier conflicts occur in borderline areas, often having rugged topography. Civilians in such conflicts were either displaced or fewer, reducing collateral concerns. Further, it relies on heavy weapons, long-range artillery, and armour to reduce the capabilities of the enemy. 

One of the major reasons for the shift of conflicts to urban cities is the rapid, unplanned transition from mainly rural to urban living and the massive development of the urban areas. It is estimated that by 2050, two-thirds of the world's population will reside in urban areas.  

Urban centers turning into war zones are bringing about doctrinal innovation. For instance, Operation Spiderweb, conducted by Ukraine, destroyed Russian bombers by smuggling FPV drones into Russia and launching them from the roofs of the mobile homes, striking the targets, highlighting how cities can be utilised for launching precision strike attacks.

The Ukraine War highlights how cities are increasingly becoming centres of modern warfare. Since the beginning of the war, urban centres have been the ones where intense fighting took place. Cities like Kyiv, Kherson, and Mariupol have experienced intense warfare. In September 2023, Ukrainian forces liberated the towns of Izyum and Kupiansk, which were captured by Russia in the initial days of the conflict.

These towns served as key logistical hubs for Russia, essential for resupplying troops and reasserting its dominance. However, ultimately, Russia failed to hold these significant locations, including Izyum and the Hostomel Airport.

The Israel-Hamas conflict further reiterates the significance of urban centres due to Gaza being a densely built and populated urban environment. Hamas has developed Gaza’s urban zones to neutrilise Israeli forces over the years.

The dense and complex structure of the city makes movement difficult, giving Hamas an upper hand to strike the attackers. Fighting involves both ground combat and underground tunnels, where Hamas has an initial advantage.  They also utilise civilian infrastructure for cover, complicating operations.  

Taiwan, in its recent Han Kuang drills, practiced defending its cities using urban warfare techniques, reasserting how urban landscapes are being increasingly transformed into battlegrounds.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS AND DOCTRINAL INNOVATION

Technological development further contributes to bringing battles into the cities. The emergence of advancements in technologies like surveillance, intelligence, and communications is undermining the traditional technological superiority of the state. These technologies are more intensified in an urban landscape, allowing faster spread of information.  

Network-centric warfare, connecting military assets via digital networks, enables faster situational awareness and synchronised decision-making, helping forces to operate in dense urban environments amid limited visibility, especially while using AI drones and robotic systems.

Hybrid warfare, combining conventional and unconventional, like cyber warfare and spreading misinformation, is also ideal for a complex urban landscape. This allows states as well as non-state actors to gain an advantage without resorting to full-blown war. Information warfare is very significant in urban conflicts.

Social media, misinformation, and propaganda are often used to influence public opinion. These can limit the operational freedom of even the most technologically advanced militaries of the world, shaping political outcomes. 

Social media is one such emerging technology that is even changing the nature of organisations and the mobilisation of non-state groups. For instance, the Pakistani terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba used Skype, cell phones, and satellite to communicate with their commanders, who, on the other hand, kept track of Twitter, satellite, and cable news to provide ground-level information to the team.  The omnipresent internet access also shapes public opinion as well as creates war narratives. 

The procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, is another important technological advancement. Drones have precision strike capabilities that can be leveraged for targeting logistical nodes and command posts. Further, the proliferation of first-person-view drones has also blurred the lines between combatants and non-combatants. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), 27 percent of civilian deaths and 30 percent of civilian injuries were due to drone attacks.  

HUMANITARIAN CONSEQUENCES

Urban warfare severely affects the civilian population, leading to higher rates of civilian casualties. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, wars in cities have led to 70% of civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria over the preceding three years. 

One major reason for this is that civilians of the enemy state are deliberately targeted, displaced, injured, and killed, which flouts the international norms that call for reducing collateral damage. For instance, in the Israel-Palestine conflict, hospitals in  Gaza, like the al Ahli Arab Hospital, have been reportedly partially destroyed by an Israeli air strike. However, according to the Israel Defense Forces, the hospital was targeted because it contained a command and control centre utilised by Hamas.  

The use of lethal weapons like drones also plays a very significant role in leading to civilian casualties. The Russia-Ukraine conflict showcases how drones have changed the landscape of modern warfare. According to OHCHR, in July 2025, at least 139 civilians were killed and 791 were injured in Ukraine due to missile and drone strikes by Russia.   

Urban warfare also leads to psychological trauma, mainly among children growing up amid destruction and devastation. Access to humanitarian aid is also hindered due to ongoing conflicts, leading to civilian suffering, developmental setbacks, and societal breakdown. 

IMPACT ON URBAN DEVELOPMENT

The Urban Development process undergoes stagnation due to the catastrophic destruction in a conflict area. It severely affects supplies of fuel as well as the supply chain. Further sanctions and embargoes impact the procurement of new supplies. 

Services also face disruptions as they are interlinked. Damage to one service leads to disruption in availing other services as well. For instance, disruption in electricity would also trigger disruption in providing healthcare facilities that would be crucial during a period of conflict. 

Conflicts have made the situation dire in cities like Gaza. According to the UN damage and needs assessment report, over 60 percent of homes and 65 percent of roads have been destroyed due to the Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza. The cost of damage to physical infrastructure has been estimated at some  $30 billion. The reconstruction process would need at least $53 billion. 

The reconstruction process in such conflict-struck cities is time-consuming and requires stable governance, long-term planning, as well as security. However, the instability in the political structure of the states often makes such a reconstruction process difficult. 

CHALLENGES OF URBAN WARFARE

Urban warfare presents significant challenges due to the distinct characteristics of urban environments. One of the key disadvantages is the deployment of forces. For attaining operational success, military operations in cities require small and decentralised units that can adapt to the complex urban infrastructure. Deploying large troops is difficult; therefore, success depends on training, specialisation, and experience. 

Dual-use technologies are also changing the dynamics of urban warfare. Non-state actors can also now easily carry out cyber warfare and access technologies like drones. Therefore, drones, which once provided an advantage in traditional warfare, are now also utilised by adversaries for spying and attacking. Therefore, militaries now require strong data security and systems to hijack and block drones. 

Information technologies like social media also play a very crucial role. Non-state actors use social media for recruiting and spreading propaganda. Civilians also use smartphones and often share battlefield information, unknowingly strengthening the defender and making the attacker vulnerable. 

Finally, the presence of a dense population adds to the difficulty. High population density forces the armies to restrict the use of heavy weapons that can cause mass casualties. Therefore, precision strike and minimising collateral damage become crucial for the armies. 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, cities becoming battlegrounds is not only a transformation of military strategy but also a deep civilisational damage. Once the centres of governance and culture are being weaponised, turning places of residence into places of casualty, transforming the concept of security. It also erodes the concept of peace signallingS that no place is safe and that civilians' lives can be sacrificed for the realisation of strategic interests.

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BY ANUSHKA DHAR

TEAM GEOSTRATA

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