This is how their troops resist in the darkest point of the Donbas front

The city of Chasiv Yar has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. It was not a well-known place before the war, and now it is completely bombed. But the Army Zelensky It continues fighting there – even underground – to stop the continued Russian attempts to advance in the direction of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

That is the main objective of Putin: complete the capture of Donbas. It has been that way since 2014, when it annexed Crimea and started a war – full of excuses – in Donetsk and Lugansk, and it remains that way ten years later. But now he is in a greater hurry, if possible, given the possibility that the new president-elect of the United States, donald trumpforce him to sit at a negotiating table as soon as he takes office.

That is why this place is so significant, although getting to the combat position is extremely complicated: the driver is guided by a night vision device, to avoid the holes left by the artillery impacts, and a co-pilot assists him by looking. through thermal vision goggles.

The journey takes forever. “In the position we will be more or less safe, but getting in and out of the city is the most critical part right now,” the commander continues to explain. “That’s why we do 24-hour shifts, and when we go in to put one team in, we take out the other,” he clarifies.

Cities erased from the map

When the vehicle finally stops and the doors open, the sight is devastating. There is nothing left. In any direction you shine the small red light flashlight – which is the only thing the military allows you to use – you only see rubble, and a soundtrack of cannon shots impacting around us welcomes us.

Chasiv Yar had been a regular meeting point for journalists covering the Battle of Bakhmut, until it fell in May 2023. It was the last city to report from, when the shelling in Bakhmut was so intense that we were not allowed through. . But now, there is simply no city anymore.

Walls with huge holes, made with tank cannons; scattered remains of roofs, bombed and twisted iron fences, and broken glass that crunches under your boots with every step you take. And the worst is what you don’t see: “There can be mines anywhere”warns Anna, the other half of the unit I accompany.

Anna and Commander Yaroslav are married and have three children. But when the invasion began they decided that they had to fight for their country, precisely so that their three children could grow up free in it. They are now part of a military intelligence team from the 120 Reconnaissance Regiment, which operates attack drones less than a kilometer from the Russian lines in the bowels of Chasiv Yar.

They cannot reveal the number of teams that, like them, operate positions within the city. But they are all connected by radio, and in addition to hitting Russian targets from the air, they assist the artillery of different brigades in locating enemy positions.

The drone war

In these 1,000 days of invasion, the war has changed drastically in tactical matters. And the driver of change has been the use of unmanned vehicles in battle. Drones – which until autumn 2022 did not have a very relevant role in Ukraine – are now essential in every military operation.

Since the first flying observation vehicles were seen – which only carried out reconnaissance missions from the air – until attack drones began to be used massively – of all sizes and capable of carrying up to 50 kilos of explosive – , it’s barely been two years.

Currently, In places like Chasiv Yar the war is fought entirely with these unmanned vehicles. And that makes it impossible to walk in the open sky without risking a grenade being thrown at you from the air, or an artillery projectile guided by an observation drone that may be two kilometers away from you.

Almost impossible to detect but absolutely lethal, drones are already causing the majority of casualties on Ukraine’s combat fronts. Even more than artillery. And more and more specialized teams are needed to operate them, like Yaroslav and Anna’s.

From the point where the car left us, to the underground position of the 120 Reconnaissance Regiment where they work, there are several hundred meters that we cover at a run and in absolute silence, to be able to hear the hum in the event that a drone enemy approaches.

Upon reaching the position, Yaroslav begins to connect cables and screens without wasting a second, while Anna assembles the different parts of a DJI Matrice drone – valued at around 5,000 euros. Some parts have been manufactured with a 3D printer, such as the anchors to place the explosives. Everything is “tuned” to adapt to your needs in combat.

Risk your life eighty times a day

The DJI Matrice – tuned – can carry an explosive charge of between 600 grams and two kilos. Some of the projectiles they use are also custom-made, but they have to be placed by hand each time the drone is launched. The problem is that to plant the explosive and get the drone into the air, you need to surface and risk being targeted.

In a 24-hour shift, pilots make about 40 flights. So they have to discover each other 80 times to put the drone in the air and pick it up when it comes back. The commander explains the details as they prepare for the first flight, but a fighter jet interrupts the conversation with a deafening roar.

“Is the plane Russian?” I ask. “Yes, but don’t worry, I’ll attack him with my Matrice,” he responds with a sense of humor. At that moment, it makes us smile, but it is impossible not to think about the psychological pressure to which Ukrainians – soldiers and civilians – are subjected after 1,000 days of invasion.

However, in the bowels of Chasiv Yar activity is frenetic and there is no time for too much reflection. Two more fighter-bombers fly over us in a short time, and the artillery duel does not stop for a single minute.

When we return to the underground position, many voices can be heard speaking at the same time on the radio. Although the most surprising thing is seeing the war “in real time” through the screens. The Ukrainians and the Russians are separated by a water channel, but the Kremlin’s assault groups constantly cross it.

“They send them in small groups, of four or five people, knowing that we are going to kill them immediately with the explosives that we launch from the drones. They are suicide missions, but Russian commanders don’t care. That is why they have so many human losses,” acknowledges Commander Yaroslav, while releasing one of his grenades on an enemy soldier with a joystick.

“Since Russia is also trying to advance along the Prokrovsk front, this part is a little calmer. I assure you that until mid-August this was hell,” he adds. If the definition of “quiet” is this, I can’t imagine hell.

Until victory

The 24 hours in the bowels of Chasiv Yar are coming to an end, and Anna radios that we are ready for the rotation. You leave the same as you entered: in a vehicle without lights, in the middle of the night, and aided by night vision devices.

But when the transport is on its way, a Russian tank unit attacks the sector we are in. “They are sweeping it away”comments Yaroslav when the impacts begin to fall closer and closer to us.

The extraction is postponed “whatever is necessary, so they can’t take us out,” and we sit in silence – with our bulletproof vests, helmets and backpacks ready to run as soon as there is an opportunity.

I ask Anna if she wouldn’t like to take her three children out of this war, which is also escalating in the rear of the combat front, where massive bombings against cities and civil infrastructure are increasingly intense. Maybe you could spend some time in another European country. She smiles. He will continue fighting for Ukraine “until victory”. Because there are only two options: win or disappear.