Camilla Jessen
Only 20 in 100 make it, drone crews say.
What looks like open countryside in southeastern Ukraine has become a lethal grid of cameras, flight paths and split-second decisions.
In a Kyiv Post frontline report, drone crews describe a war where survival depends on staying unseen and where even distance offers little safety.
Beneath the fields
An hour east of Zaporizhzhia, fortifications grow denser with every kilometer. Trenches, checkpoints and anti-drone nets line the road as crews move toward concealed underground positions.
From a dug-in shelter, a reconnaissance team from the 423rd UAS Battalion launches fixed-wing drones to spot Russian positions, movements and shelters. “We’re not bombing. Not today,” one operator, Bob, told Kyiv Post.
War from above
Their work feeds a wider strike chain. Once targets are identified, coordinates can be passed to artillery or FPV drone units within minutes.
Bob said Russian troops now avoid moving in large armored formations near the front. Instead, they advance in small groups on foot, trying to slip through fields and tree lines.
“It’s a slow, arduous way to advance. Humanly inefficient, but effective nonetheless,” the report said.
Bob estimated that of 100 Russian soldiers sent forward, only around 20 reach their destination. “This is madness,” he said, describing how both survival and timing now depend on drone battery cycles and blind spots in aerial coverage.
The report says the danger zone has widened sharply. Areas once considered relatively safer can now be reached by FPV drones far from the line of contact.
New kind of soldier
Other drone crews told Kyiv Post the bigger shortage is not aircraft but trained operators. “We need more eyes in the air,” Bob said.
Several of the soldiers interviewed had civilian careers before the war, including engineering, IT, journalism and marketing. They said modern combat is increasingly about surveillance, coordination and remote strikes rather than direct firefights.
Another operator, Zhychyk, said he sees no near-term end to the war and expects a long confrontation unless Ukraine adapts faster.
“Never know when it will come to your country. You always need to be prepared,” he said.
Sources: Kyiv Post, Onet
