"If we are found, we are done": they they move only at night, then spend days hiding in basements from where they direct deadly weapons. Fighters from the Ukrainian drone control unit live in constant fear.
These cheap drones, loaded with explosives, not only destroy military equipment worth millions, but also tear apart personnel. We are talking about combat drones with FPV (First Person View) technology, which are controlled remotely through glasses - like in a video game, the German public media ARD reports in a report from Ukraine.
"If you give away your whereabouts, you have a huge problem"
"We are not killing people, we are killing the enemy who is occupying our country and killing our people and us. The Russians are not far behind - they are just crazy. It's not easy to fight against them," a Ukrainian soldier with the code name "Calvados" told ARD.
Russian soldiers often offer fierce resistance, adds the 28-year-old man. He and his comrades now move only at night - so as not to be noticed by Russian drone pilots. After that, for days they hide in a basement in the combat zone and launch drone after drone at the Russian positions. On this day "Calvados" explains to a group of newly arrived soldiers how pursuing the enemy works.
"We are a top priority target. If they find us, we're done for. We will be fiercely attacked until the roof over our heads collapses or half the forest around us is destroyed. That is why our task is so dangerous. If you reveal where you are, you have a huge problem," explains the Ukrainian soldier, adding that the most important thing is not to panic. He and his companions exchange jokes to escape the constant fear of death. "Calvados" does not hide that the losses of the Ukrainian army are high, ARD reports further.
But despite all the dangers they are exposed to, the men of the unit fear a temporary truce being declared. "If we now theoretically agree to some kind of ceasefire or something similar, we will only give the enemy an opportunity to replenish his resources," Anton, the commander of the unit, told ARD.
Thus, Russia will be able to impose its conditions on Ukraine and annex more parts of the country, Anton believes. According to him, the war will only end when one of the two sides has exhausted its resources and is no longer able to fight. And at the moment, observers are of the opinion that it is more likely to be Ukraine. It is heavily dependent on Western arms supplies and has far fewer troops.
Anton is of the same opinion: "At the moment there is a total shortage of people, as the enemy has a serious numerical superiority in terms of population. The Russians also have an advantage in technology, weapons, artillery, missiles. So they won't stop. That's why we can't stop either," says the commander.
"We need people, but we need weapons even more"
Polls show that most Ukrainians still believe in victory. But their confidence gradually declines. Fewer and fewer men are voluntarily enlisting in the army.
One of the reasons for this is the shortage of weapons and ammunition. "There are enough people if we recruit them. But we have nothing to fight with. We have too few weapons and ammunition to inflict maximum damage on the enemy. Yes, we need more people, but even more we need weapons," the soldier codenamed "Calvados" told ARD.