Drone operator Vasyl, call sign Boroda: Katsaps were coming at us. So I have just dropped "F", dropped Mavic and ran. I was 23 metres high and hit orc right in head! It was so beautiful!
Everything fantastic eventually becomes reality. When Hollywood films about the future used drones to fight wars, it seemed that the scriptwriters had a cool idea. But it was the soldiers of the Ukrainian army who made it a reality. Censor.NET has already told you about situations when drone operators stopped enemy assaults on the approaches to our positions, thus saving the lives of infantrymen in the trenches. And assaults with the help of Mavic and FPV are no longer a fantasy. And the same fighters who used to perform completely different tasks are trained to do so. This was the case with Vasyl. When he signed a contract with the Ukrainian army, he could not even imagine that he would later fly and hit the enemy from the sky.
"WHEN THE RUSSIANS HIT ME WITH A BOMB, I WAS SAVED BY LEANING AGAINST THE BATTERY TO HANG UP MY CLOTHES"
- My father is a military man. All my life, as far back as I can remember, he has served in the army. That's why I decided to follow in his footsteps. On 24 February, as I remember now, we were raised on a combat alert - we were just in training. From that moment on, we didn't sleep for three days - orders, orders, orders... I was very worried about my mother because she stayed in Chernihiv region, where I come from. She called me and told me that columns of Russians were coming. At first, they were just passing by, but then they started to gain a foothold. As I was told, there was a tank at almost every intersection. The situation was quite difficult, and I was very nervous about it. But I understood that I was doing everything in my power to stop it all as soon as possible.
On the night of 1 March, our entire course - 124 people, 89 of them boys and the rest girls - was sent to the 14th Brigade. In the morning, we were fed and issued with our uniforms, and in the evening we left. From the 14th, we went straight to the front. The 1st battalion, 2nd company, which I was assigned to, was on the Kyiv highway. It was not far from Makariv. We stayed there for about a week or two. Then the big march started - we got on IFVs and started driving. We drove for a long time, for about 12 hours without stopping.
- Did you understand where you were going?
- No. Nobody knew anything - where we were going, what was going to happen next... It was the beginning of a full-scale war. We understood, more or less, where the enemy was. At that time, enemy aircraft were still flying overhead very often. I remember as well as I do today: I had just arrived, I had just been assigned to a group, we were having tea and getting to know each other, and then two enemy "Su" came in for a strike. I don't know what happened, but, thank God, they didn't work out - they flew past us. It was scary, very scary. My first impressions were not very pleasant. But I understood that it was a war. I was well aware that it started back in 2014. My uncle was in the ATO since 2016, so I came across this war much earlier than the full-scale invasion.
- Where did you end up?
- Then my company was in Pishchanka, Zhytomyr region, at a sawmill. We arrived almost at night. I took a bath, washed my clothes - I had to hang them on the radiator to dry. The first time the "Su" was coming in, everyone ducked. It flew by. The second time it came in, it didn't just fly by, it hit ... My life was saved by the fact that I had just bent down to hang my clothes on the radiator. Because there was a window right in front of me, and the blow hit the next room. It was very scary. It was my first enemy air strike. Two window frames hit my back, and I got away with scratches. We had our first "300s" at that time.
- Where did the first fight happen?
- We were sent to storm an enemy checkpoint. We didn't succeed very well, we withdrew because we met the enemy's superior forces - eight tanks and three IFVs. We retreated, got a foothold in the landing, took up defence - everything as it should be. We set up posts and watched. We expected them to attack us, but they did not.
In early April, we went from Zhytomyr to Mykolaiv region. We stayed there for about a month. On 27 or 28 April, we left our positions. We were standing purely on the defensive, one and a half kilometres away from the enemy, and an open field in front of us. There, the 'Russian people' fought among themselves very often. We saw it with our own eyes! RPGs were flying at each other. I don't know what kind of clashes they were having. Shots from tracers... It was there that I first saw how our aviation works. They worked very well. After that, we sat quietly for a week - no one fired, tea, coffee... Everything was like home.
"CORRECTED THE WORK OF OUR SNIPER ON THE ENEMY"
- When did you start flying?
- At that time, as far as I heard, UAVs were not used very actively on our side. Yes, there were pilots, they flew, but not as actively as now. I started working with UAVs in the middle of the summer of 2022. For some reason, the company commander asked me specifically: "Are you going to fly?" I said: "Yes, I will!" And that was it. I went to the commander and he gave me a drone. I came back to my position and learnt to fly.
- Did it happen in Mykolaiv region?
- No, it was already Donetsk region. We were on the Bakhmut-Soledar-Yakovlivka road. Nahirne was a little higher. We stood there for 28 hellish days.
- Why hellish?
- Because the enemy artillery was very active there. By that time, there were almost no aviation forces, only helicopters flew in occasionally. Mostly, we were hit by artillery: 82nd mortars, 120th mortars, tanks, 152-calibre self-propelled artillery systems. Plus "Nona", 120-calibre: one way out, three ways in. It was a terrible thing... The guys on the positions dug into the road, right under it, to protect themselves.
- First flights on a Mavic - what kind of "bird" was it? Did you understand what you were seeing? You have to get used to it...
- It was very easy for me right away. I started out with a Mavic 2 with a fourfold zoom. And almost as soon as I started flying, we repelled an enemy attack. He was coming at us with a company. We worked very accurately with a mortar, the guys used an under-barrel grenade launcher and an RPG. We repelled their assault very quickly. And I was already adjusting where to shoot.
Then I corrected the sniper's work with explosive ammunition, because I knew where the enemy sniper was sitting in front of our positions. There was a mound of sand, we called it a spoil heap. And the enemy sniper often climbed on it. To stop him from doing so, a specialist came to us.
- Did you use the "bird" to spot the sniper?
- I saw him! Scouting is very easy for me - I don't know how it happens. At the moment, it's already an experience, but back then... I had the second Mavic, and it had a poor zoom, to put it bluntly, compared to the third Mavic. I had to work purely on intuition. I saw some movement, or a bush, or something lying wrong - I felt that it was worth paying attention to. Basically, my intuition did not let me down.
My first adjustment, so to speak, was for that sniper. The brigade snipers and guys with PG-25, an under-barrel grenade launcher, were working on him. They did such a good job that he was taken away the next day. He stayed there for a day while they were constantly working there, and then either left and never came back, or they took him away. I think he definitely did not leave there on his own. Then I was adjusting the 120th mortar during the enemy's attack. I won't say how many enemy soldiers were killed there, but the fact is that they withdrew.
There was a forest behind Nahirne, and five IFVs with infantry on top drove in. Literally immediately after that, the infantry began to approach the edge of the forest in large numbers. I reported to the commander on the radio. It was clear that something was going to happen. Our mortars started firing in the forest - and successfully. I didn't see the fire, but only three vehicles left the area. It was the first successfully repelled enemy attack with the help of a "bird".
"I HAVE LOST MY FIRST 'BIRD' IN THREE DAYS"
- How did you cope with the loss of your "birds"?
- Oh, this is such a delicate topic...(smiles.) I have lost my first "bird" literally about two days after receiving it. Because at that time, no one told me about the operation of EWs, what they are and how to deal with them. What to do when the signal with the remote control is lost, what to do when the Mavic is simply demolished. I was told how to take off, and that was it - fly. At that time, we had not yet anonymised the 'birds', so as soon as I took off, an enemy electronic warfare unit could see me on the aeroscope. Both the take-off point and the 'bird' itself... The fun began - the enemy tank was firing at me. Two or three shots, and it would stop. Thank God, there were no more, because I know that there are 20 plus shells in the tank's conveyor belt. I had a position prepared by the guys, a small dugout dug for me alone. The guys also stood in reserve to jump out if something happened. And only I would get there... We were saved by the fact that the dugout was dug under a railway crossing, with a large embankment above us, so we hid behind it.
- But the first arrival of a tank shell must have been unforgettable?
- Yes, it was literally about 20 metres away from me. And he threw so well, damn it! He would hit me right away, and I would just take off. It was an indescribable feeling...
- Did you think at that moment: what am I doing here? Maybe I should do something else?
- No. I didn't have that feeling from the very beginning of the war. I knew I had to keep doing what I could. So I continue to fight now, let's say, on enthusiasm. If not me, then who?
I "successfully" lost my first "bird" in two days. The second one lasted six days. It was also the second Mavic. Then I was given an "Autel" with a night vision camera. Oh, I could go for a walk there! Because, firstly, the zoom was better... At that time, I didn't know that you couldn't use the thermal imager during the day, so I did, and I could see the enemy artillery exits very well. Then we immediately worked there with everything we could. As they say, I made life easier for the guys on the front line.
- How far could you fly?
- It depends. It all depends on the area where I was working. If I was on a hill, and the reconnaissance zone was below my level, I could fly four or six kilometres away. I remember when the offensive began in the Kharkiv region, we were behind Kupiansk. Then our battalion broke through 17 kilometres of the frontline, we went right up to Orlianske, where their artillery was. I remember the enemy intercepts. The artillery was coming at the senior officer: "A column of Ukrainians passed me here". He replied: "Are you stupid? This is the rear, artillery - what column?" The commander and I laughed a lot as we listened to their surprise. Many columns of enemy vehicles were passing us at the time, because they were withdrawing and withdrawing. At the time, we were trying not to burn our positions to hold the line.
At that time, I was no longer a UAV operator, it was my colleague who later died, and I was engaged in transporting the BC, provisions, and the guys to the ground "zero".
- But were you warned that there would be such an operation, that you would have to go ahead and, if possible, break through the line?
- Yes, we were warned. It was September. More than half of the company was withdrawn for this offensive. I stayed at the old positions. I flew around, scouted everything. When our men started the offensive, the Katsaps decided to attack us. Then we worked very well with IFV-1. We let them get very close to us. It was morning, and we couldn't see anything from the "bird". The guys said: "We see movement - 15 orcs". I immediately grabbed the tablet, and the "bird" flew.
There were few losses during this offensive. This is very good. We were the second line of this offensive, and the guys from the 92nd and 80th brigades (if I remember correctly) were storming. When they stopped at a certain line, we occupied that line. The guys would retreat, rest there, and then move on. We were always on their heels.
At that time, I thought: that's it, now this offensive is over, I can go home and rest... Everyone was in a fighting mood, everyone was rushing forward to liberate more.
- Tell us about the first time you heard or saw drops somewhere and realised that you could use them too.
- I heard about the drop system around January 2023. I was talking to the guys - we talk to other pilots. And they said that there is a thing that allows you to drop "gifts". At first, I didn't understand what could be dropped there, how to do it, what it was and how it worked. I started searching on the Internet, on different websites. And somewhere in mid-January, I started actively dropping myself. I got everything I needed through volunteers. They helped me a lot.
Later, I set fire to the enemy's MTLB. Then I damaged a ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun, which was also on the base of the MTLB, with a drop. Then I repelled the enemy attack with grenades. The guys saw the Katsaps coming to the observation post. I was monitoring a slightly different area, from the side, so I didn't notice them. The guys reported back that the shooting had already started, and the katsaps were lying down. So what did I do: I immediately dropped "F", dropped the Mavic and ran. I was 23 metres high and hit the orc right in the head! It was so beautiful! At that time, I also dropped 17th VOGs. I carried two of them at a time. And grenades - one at a time. The "Mavic" is not heavy enough to carry two grenades.
Since then, we have actively developed the use of FPVs, kamikaze drones, and drone-bombers. Our brigade has formed a unit dedicated to UAVs. We are actively developing octocopters. I was at an exhibition where I learnt that they can carry four 82nd mines. I really want to learn how to fly it. My goal is to fly everything.
- What happened to your partner? You said he was killed. In what situation?
- Oleh, call sign Artist, died on 1 December 2022, when we were sent to storm Dibrova. He went to reconnoiter the area and hit a mine. Only one of the four men survived. There were the battalion pilot, our pilot, the head of intelligence (he showed the way) and another assistant.
- Did you study together or did he start earlier?
- He is a mechanic-driver of an APC-80 by profession. He joined our company as an infantryman. Later we found out that he had performed on the "X Factor", and from that moment on he had the call sign Artist. We knew what he was working in the IT sector. Then we were told that we could send a person to study to become a pilot. Well, the choice fell on him. He went and studied for about two weeks. He came back and continued to fly.
- Did he teach you or did you teach him?
- We exchanged knowledge. Combat experience, the way it happens here in the war, cannot be compared to training. They won't tell you what it's like in combat. At the moment, I've already been training pilots - on Mavic-3. I have already trained two, and now I am training the third.
When we were stationed in Kupyansk, there was a period when seven pilot teams were working simultaneously. We used to arrange a "carousel" as we call it: one of them found the target, the other flew there with a grenade, VOGs, something else - it was up to them. He arrived, dropped it, stayed to watch, and the one who was watching flew off to reload. And so, 10-15 orcs would die every day...
- Did they stay on the field?
- Yes. No one even took them away. They did evacuate the "three hundredths", but they were not very successful...
- How fancy is war today?
- Now there is a war of engineers - those who design and manufacture drones, plus the IT people who make the software for all these different drones. FPV is a very relevant topic. Nowadays, every unit must have a mavic team of at least two people, and a FPV team of three people. Thanks to drones, we will win the war - I hope so and I think it will happen. Because, as far as practice has shown, a drone can do a lot of things that cannot be done with artillery and infantry.
- Do you already have an engineering degree?
- No, I'm still studying part-time at Chernihiv National Technological University.
- What faculty?
- My speciality is mechanical engineering. These include lathes, 3D modelling of various parts, and so on.
- When we win, will you return to a civilian profession? Or will you stay in the army and develop the technological areas that you consider relevant?
- Honestly, I don't even know what I'm going to do after the war is over. At least, I've decided for myself: I'm going to work with drones. It's something I really like. I have a feeling that drones will be used in the Emergency Situations Ministry and in medicine - they will be used in many places.
I've seen on the Internet how people use drones in the energy sector to monitor high-voltage towers. There's no need for humans to climb up there. I picked up the drone, checked if everything was okay, and put it down. Or it is possible to use the DJI Master 30. It has a function to set the flight path. This drone has a large charging station, it automatically takes off from it, flies the route, and records everything on video. And a person sits at the console and watches everything on the screen or then watches the recorded video.
Photo: Roman Nikolaiev
- Do you feel that you have made a step forward during the war? To what extent did it give you motivation, experience, strength, and understanding of yourself?
- During the full-scale war, I gained a lot of different experience, and I understand that it is valuable and will be valued all over the world. Because none of the countries in Europe and America have fought a war like the one we faced. That's why many of our guys will go as instructors and teach the whole world how to fight properly using modern methods. We are massively using the same civilian drone to film weddings, and we are using it very effectively. I can say that over the years I have been at war, I have stepped up a notch and discovered something new in my life.
Violetta Kirtoka, Censor. NET
