Ukraine’s drone operators are inflicting record losses on Russian forces, with 22,880 troops lost in just 10 days. Yet the Kremlin is preparing to mobilize hundreds of thousands more.
The skies above eastern Ukraine no longer belong to pilots or artillery, but to the constant hum of suicide drones. In the corridor guarding Donetsk’s last fortress cities—Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Kostiantynivka—Ukrainian defenders from the Rubizh Brigade and 1st Azov Corps rely on robotic resupply vehicles and underground shelters to survive what troops call the Kill Zone.
“What’s the name of those creatures in Harry Potter that Luna Lovegood says only appear to you after you’ve seen death? Well, whatever they are, we’re all gonna be seeing them now forever.”