She and her colleague Yasha are escorting us into a city now under constant bombardment from Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs. It is raining and cloudy as we enter the city, and our military escorts call this "good" weather, meaning it is bad for drones. But the threat is still there, and Yasha keeps his eyes peeled on the skies, while 21-year-old Tetiana scours her phone for the latest military intelligence on likely threats from the air.
They are members of a drone unit who call themselves Peaky Blinders and their distinctive emblem is a flat cap of the type made popular by the cult BBC TV series, although theirs are camouflaged. Slovyansk is one of four cities that make up Ukraine's "fortress belt" - a system of heavily reinforced defence lines in the parts of eastern region of Donetsk still under its control. Russia wants Kyiv to give up the fortress cities and they are central to talks on a possible peace deal that have resumed after nine months between Ukraine, Russia and the US in Abu Dhabi.
Ukrainians worry that doing so would make it much easier for Russia to advance further west, including to the capital Kyiv. Once inside the city, we leave our vehicles hidden under the cover of trees and venture out on foot. Yasha carries a shotgun – a last resort to shoot down Russian drones.
In halting English, Tetiana tells us walking is safer than travelling by car. Abandoned vehicles litter the streets – recently destroyed by remotely operated Russian first-person view drones. The anti-drone netting that covers the roads is no guarantee of safety.
Tetiana shows us a video on her phone taken a few days earlier. You can hear several drones buzzing above her, and then the cacophony of small arms fire as Ukrainian forces try to shoot them down. Tetiana admits it can be scary but explains how she felt compelled to help her country, abandoning her dreams of becoming an opera singer.
Slovyansk is now a husk of its former self. Very few buildings have been left unscathed, with many reduced to rubble. Tetiana shows us a school recently destroyed by Russian glide bombs.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
