Inside Ukraine's Drone Wall Holding Off Russia's Meatgrinder Assaults

2025-09-11 07:01:28

(MENAFN- Asia Times) Past midnight, in near-total darkness, Andrii, callsign“Drunya,” a driver from the Unmanned Systems Battalion of Ukraine's 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, prepares for a resupply run to a drone unit on the front just after midnight. He loads a pickup truck with first-person-view (FPV) drones and explosives. The vehicle is fitted with a jammer to guard against incoming enemy FPV strikes.

Once the truck is ready, the dash to the front begins. Along the roads leading to the frontline, trucks, civilian vehicles and heavy armor crawl forward under makeshift cages and welded plating – protection against the ever-present drone threat. It's a scene that looks torn from“Mad Max,” but it's also a stark reflection of how today's small, cheap drones have reshaped modern warfare.

With me is Ryan Van Ert , a filmmaker from Los Angeles. We met on a previous trip to Ukraine, and he decided to join this mission. Last year, I spent nearly a week embedded with a drone unit in Chasiv Yar , getting as close as 1.5 kilometers to Russian lines. But in the past year, the kill zone has expanded greatly; now, anything within 10-15 kilometers of the front is fair game for enemy drones.

Before setting out, Andrii warns us: If the truck stops for any reason, don't bother grabbing anything – just run for cover under the nearest treeline. Wearing body armor and helmets, we speed down pitted country roads. In the passenger seat, a soldier keeps his rifle ready, prepared to shoot down an enemy FPV if one dives toward us. Fiber-optic drones lying in wait along the roadside have become a deadly hazard for both sides.

Andrii cues up music on the Bluetooth speaker, each song somehow amplifying the tension in the air. I stare out the window, imagining Russian drones circling above, watching us from the darkness. As we near the front, Andrii switches off the headlights, slips on his night-vision goggles, and drives the rest of the way in pitch black.

Bohdan, a drone pilot from the Unmanned Systems Battalion of Ukraine's 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, pilots an FPV drone in Donetsk Oblast during active battle operations. Photo: David Kirichenko

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