Drones are rescuing Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline in the face of constant delays in providing assistance from Western partners.
How UAVs became a lifeline for the Ukrainian military
The publication notes that the Russian occupation army maintains an advantage in the number of artillery ammunition and artillery systems, as well as in the number of personnel.
However, the journalists of the publication got acquainted with the work of a UAV unit under the leadership of 33-year-old senior lieutenant Yuriy Fedorenko, known by the nickname "Achilles".
For several months now, groups of UAVs under the leadership of Fedorenko have been part of the 92nd Airborne Assault Brigade, which compensated for the weak points of the Ukrainian defence in the area of Chasiv Yar.
The teams work day and night, attacking Russian armored vehicles, dropping explosives on Russian positions and using their drones to ferry supplies to Ukrainian soldiers along the front line, the publication said.
Fedorenko emphasised that in the absence of drone support, Ukraine would have already lost, and the occupation army of the Russian Federation would have reached Kyiv.
The military proudly showed journalists its workshops, where engineers finalise and test drones.
At the same time, he expressed anger and disappointment at the broken promises of Western allies and the losses that, he said, Ukraine suffered as a result.
We have an absolutely absurd situation. Imagine a boxing match where there are equal boxers, but one of them can punch once and his opponent can punch 10 times. This is an absolute theater of the absurd, Fedorenko explains, commenting on the months-long delay in US aid to Ukraine.
The military emphasised that the fighting in the east of Ukraine has reached the peak of its brutality.
Ukraine is forced to cede territories due to lack of ammunition
After the Ukrainian military began to have problems with artillery ammunition, they began to constantly lose ground.
In the winter, the Ukrainians managed to prevent a major breakthrough by the Russians, but at the end of February, the Russians launched an all-out offensive on Chasiv Yar. With the help of his reconnaissance drones, he saw Russian soldiers massing.
According to "Achilles", the Russians went step by step, taking one position after another.
This happened after we ran out of ammunition, and our artillery had nothing to shoot from, Fedorenko emphasised.
He added that the Ukrainian artillery fired no more than two shells per day, and would have had at least 30.
In the middle of April, according to "Achilles", the Russians made another assault towards Chasiv Yar with 30 tanks and armored vehicles.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces were able to shoot down at least 22 vehicles, but due to the lack of artillery, most of the strikes were carried out by groups of drones.
These were not only kamikaze drones, but also drones that dropped mines in the path of Russian armored vehicles.
Some vehicles were also hit by Ukrainian infantry from anti-tank weapons.
All we can do now with the drones we have is slow their advance, the military warns.
