Ukraine Depends On Drones To Halt Russia’s Advance

As Ukraine man power shrinks, they now depend on multiple drone attacks to resist Russian assault on daily basis, yet two vehicles made it to the treeline and drop off Russian troops to shelter in the scant winter foliage, though minutes later, more drones strike the lone dismounts.

Another tank, partially damaged in its first run, continues through the treeline ahead. It breaks into the next open field, with some troops apparently clinging still to its battered exterior. The sight and its bloodshed are perversely intimate in the live detail, even though the horror we are watching is about 10 miles away.

Once the tank is halfway across the next field, the swarm of single-use drones strikes it again and it slows to a smoking halt. However much of each assault they kill, the Ukrainians complain, the few Russians who advance are immediately reinforced by another 10.

Ukraine cannot match Moscow’s numbers, or a tolerance for casualties that Western officials claim is resulting in up to 1,200 dead or injured daily across the frontlines. Kyiv’s manpower crisis has been palpable in Pokrovsk for weeks, soldiers around the eastern front told CNN, and Moscow’s savage tactics are seeing persistent success.

“The situation is very critical,” said East, the callsign of a commander of a drone unit working around Pokrovsk. “We lack infantry to fight and hold out for some time while the drones do their work. That’s why we often see situations where the enemy uncontrollably penetrates vulnerable areas.”

Troops in Pokrovsk told CNN of manpower shortages so acute they feared Russia could make a significant breakthrough and complained of having to use drones to strike advancing Russian units because they lacked infantry to confront them.

One commander said Selydove, a key town outside of Pokrovsk taken by Russia in October, was defended with only six Ukrainian positions, which he assessed meant about 60 troops were involved in the operation. They were quickly encircled, outnumbered and retreated with significant casualties.

It is rare to hear Ukrainian troops disparage commanders and starkly assess the frontline to reporters, but multiple soldiers around Pokrovsk presented a stark assessment of the current Russian offensive and their own prospects in the area over the coming months.

“I cannot say exactly how much time we have, if there is any time at all,” said Kashei, a callsign, a reconnaissance sniper. Now they are pushing their troops to the frontline as much as possible. And then at one point they will all go for an assault. They can go very far. In one day, let’s say.

“The enemy is advancing because there are no people defending on the ground,” he continued. “Nobody wants to sit there. There is a very high chance that they will not come back.”

CNN/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma