Desperate Fight for Survival

"In the frozen wasteland where the fighting is taking place, it seems there is no end in sight. The stakes are high, not only for Ukrainians, but also for Europe and the broader international order, as the question of whether borders can be changed by force is being decided. On the ground, the conflict is perceived less as a matter of grand strategy and more as a daily struggle for bare survival", the British outlet writes.

Threat from the Sky

As reported by Index, Sky News journalists joined a Ukrainian unit of the 117th Brigade tasked with defending one of the fiercest areas of the Donbas, known as the "fortification belt".

According to the report, soldiers constantly scan the sky for drones and use handheld detectors.

Soon, a drone could be heard and then seen. The deputy commander opened fire with his automatic rifle, joined by another soldier.

Although it is not easy to hit a small and fast-moving target, it is the only way to combat this threat, and for the soldiers, it has become routine.

Sky News reporters then traveled part of the way to the village where the unit is stationed by quad bike, racing through frozen streets lined with destroyed Ukrainian vehicles. Above them, Ukrainian drones monitored movement and provided some protection.

Drone Hunters

A small unit of  "drone hunters" operates mostly from the shadows, helping protect the logistics hub of Sloviansk, a key city holding the defensive line in eastern Ukraine. In a bunker where they live and plan missions, the soldiers showed British journalists a drone they had shot down that morning.

It is cheap, mass-produced, and deadly.

Bohdan, commander of the air defense unit of the 117th Brigade, explains: "In some places our men use shotguns because drones fly at very low altitude there. That’s within effective shotgun range. But here they fly higher and faster, so a Kalashnikov is the most effective weapon."

A Desperate Fight for Survival

Drone attacks are constant, and the landscape has been devastated by years of war.

"For the people defending this area, the danger is constant. One soldier describes the rhythm of their days: 'It happens two or three times a day, frozen streets, reconnaissance drones, attack drones, and Russians. It can’t get more dangerous. Threats come from all sides, in seconds'", Sky News reports, adding: "Life in eastern Ukraine is a desperate fight for survival."

A War of Microchips and Mud

The team was then taken to a secret location deep in the forest. Access to the brigade’s command post is strictly limited. It is in a bunker containing a “maze of screens and monitors” reflecting what this war has become.

"This is now a conflict of microchips and mud, in which drones trace digital chains of destruction while people do everything they can to survive", the Sky News article states.

Colonel Dmytro Yaroshenko, commander of the 117th Brigade, says the transformation has been profound.

"The war has fundamentally changed. Before, figuratively speaking, we fought 'on horseback', and now we fight in the sky. We are even using drones to shoot down helicopters. Not specifically my brigade, but some units do so."

"Logistics are currently a nightmare because technology has advanced so much; drones are flying almost everywhere. If the enemy spots a vehicle, there is a high probability it will be quickly destroyed", the colonel adds.

Journalists were also shown another video depicting Russian soldiers entering a bunker into which a drone had been sent. No one came out.

"The 21st century has fused muddy trench warfare reminiscent of World War I, and the outcome is dark and brutal. The fighting here may seem distant to those thousands of miles away, but its consequences are not", Sky News concludes.