LINCOLN, Nebraska (KOLN) – In the devastated deserts between the armies, nothing moves without being seen.
A Russian soldier strolling down a street and knocking a fallen branch off the path. Or a rusty van speeding down a side road. All of these things are observed, acknowledged, ignored or reacted to.
“Right now we are conducting reconnaissance and ghost reconnaissance work and scanning the area,” said Pasha, a drone pilot.
Ten miles from Chasiv Yar, one of the most violent places in the world today, this May afternoon is a normal workday for a team of intelligence drone pilots who wage war with their laptops.
“This is crucial,” said Pasha. “We are the eyes in the sky.”
It’s quiet on the ground as the team puts the pieces together. The drone is a sleek device provided to us by a friendly European country. It moves quickly under the cover of a line of trees. There are also enemy drone crews looking for them and they would be valuable targets.
“They can reach us. They can reach you anywhere if they find you,” said Pasha. “Many of the injured have died in this work. Sometimes, at regular intervals, this happens. It is war.”
Once the components are in place, the crew makes final adjustments and tests the wings and engine, then launches it into the air: this metal bird that scours the battlefields for prey.
“We’re looking for heavy equipment, personnel, anything that’s going to be interesting on the battlefield,” Pasha said. “Whatever we find, we try to pass that information on to command.”
Down in the trenches, the heart of the operation, the crew sees villages razed to the ground for miles. From several hundred meters above the Russian lines, they see the enemy’s extensive fortifications, just waiting for a possible Ukrainian attack.
Pasha and his team are on the front lines of the war. He has been working with drones since the large-scale invasion began in 2022. Back then, he says, drones were a necessary background tool; today they dominate the front lines.
“That has now changed drastically,” he said. “It is a war of drones.”
We saw signs of this change later in the day with a tank crew. These massive, multi-million-dollar steel containers act as glorified artillery batteries in the hottest battlefields. They occasionally fire, then sneak off into the woods to hide from the attack drones that can disable them at a fraction of the cost.
“You can lose important assets for many reasons, and that is not desirable,” Pasha said.
Back in the trenches, this afternoon is a disappointment.
“I have nothing new today,” said Pascha.
So it’s time to deploy the drones again: with a soft landing and the promise that the team will start the process again the next day.
“This has enormous implications on the battlefield,” Pasha said.
Pasha and the group will wait and watch – with bodies underground and eyes above.
Torn by war: stories from Ukraine
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