Kramatorsk, Ukraine – Three Ukrainian soldiers raced across a field on a quad bike in eastern Ukraine, weaving at 100 kilometers an hour to avoid the attack drone chasing them from the sky.
One fired a shotgun upward, blasting the tiny craft into pieces.
This time it is just a training exercise. But with Russia having gained an upper hand in front line drone warfare for the first time since it invaded, Kyiv’s troops are practicing hard.
The terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine
An acrid smell hangs over the town of Rodynske. A couple of minutes after we drive into the city we see where it’s coming from.
A 250kg glide bomb has ripped through the town’s main administrative building, and taken down three residential blocks. We’re visiting a day after the bomb struck, but parts of the wreckage are still smoking. From the edges of the town we hear the sound of artillery fire, and of gunshots – Ukrainian soldiers shooting down drones.
Rodynske is about 15km (9 miles) north of the embattled city of Pokrovsk. Russia has been trying to capture it from the south since the autumn of last year, but Ukrainian forces have so far managed to stop Russian soldiers from marching in.
So Russia has changed tactics, moving instead to encircle the city, cutting off supply routes.
In the past two weeks, as hectic diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine have failed, Russia has intensified its push, making its most significant advances since January.
We find proof of that in Rodynske.
Within minutes of us arriving in town, we hear a Russian drone above us. Our team runs to the closest cover available – a tree.
Getty ImagesWe press up against it so the drone won’t see us. Then there’s the sound of a loud explosion – it’s a second drone making impact nearby. The drone above us is still hovering. For a few more minutes, we hear the terrifying whirring sound of what’s become the deadliest weapon of this war.
When we can’t hear it any more we take the chance to run to hard cover in an abandoned building 100ft away.
From the shelter, we hear the drone again. It’s possible it returned after seeing our movement.
by BBC
