Author:  Olha Moskaliuk

Call sign Ara: "For FPVs, it makes no difference whether they fly into Korean or Russian face. Main thing is accurate result"

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Andrii is the pilot of the Drongo UAV Strike Group, which consists of four volunteer soldiers. They help the "Arei" Battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army on the battlefield. They are currently fighting in the kursk region. He has the call sign Ara, which is how his friends called him back in civilian life. Before the Russian-Ukrainian war, he had been working in Russia for two years in construction, but returned to Ukraine in February 2014.

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When you were still in Russia, how did you perceive Russians?

- At that time, no way, because we had little contact with the local population. Most of our employees were newcomers. But I remember when they started showing on TV that Crimea wanted to be Russia. They were spreading this information. Of course, I didn't believe in this nonsense. I have friends in Crimea, and when I called home, they told me the real situation. I returned to Ukraine in February 2014 and saw for myself what was happening. Then I spent a year trying to get into the army.

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Why weren't you hired?

- They said there was no need, that I was not suitable, because I had not served before. But then I was accepted. I was assigned to the 19th Separate Mechanised Brigade (formerly the Mykolaiv Territorial Defence). We were defending Mariupol at the time.

How long did you serve?

- Until the end of August 2016. There was a conditional lull then. If the situation was as it is now, I would hardly have quit.

- Have you ever thought about the possibility that russia could wage full-scale war against us?

- I was prepared that if something started, I would not leave or hide, but would definitely resist the whole movement.

When did you realise it was inevitable? Before the attack or after the fact?

- After the fact. I was at home in Voznesensk. I didn't want to join the Armed Forces, but I was ready to help. We were building checkpoints, making Molotov cocktails, preparing the defence of the city and meeting the whole horde. I was near the bridge that was blown up, I heard the first shot from a tank.

- What were your impressions? The enemy was moving quite fast in Kherson region, had big plans for Mykolaiv region...

- Yes, we saw it all on the news. We were ready for anything. No one stayed at home. The city was half occupied for several days. But they retreated. We were cleaning up, watching, guarding equipment to keep civilians out, because people are curious about everything. And I, as a former military man, understood that the Russians could have planted explosives before they left. We had to let the sappers check everything first.

- They managed to recapture the cityWhat did you do after that?

- I can say that I was volunteering: I found something and passed it on to the guys from the '80s, where I had a lot of friends. So I tried to help as much as I could. As soon as Kherson was liberated, we delivered water and food to people.

By the way, about the help. I am engaged in dismantling trucks. I want to say that my boss is a very patriotic person. I am very grateful to him for what he does! You know, when we go to the frontline, he still pays me a full salary. And he always supports our group.

- So tell us, how did you get to Drongo?

- I volunteered at the "United Country" Foundation (which, by the way, is still working and helping). My friend, who was also there, told me that he was going to learn to fly. I asked to join them. It became interesting. It was such an impetus for me. It was organised by the chaplain, our current commander. He asked who would like to be what. Zub (now an FPV pilot in Drongo - O.M.) immediately decided that he would be a pilot. At first, I wanted to be one too. But I realised that I could fly, but it was difficult for me to assemble a drone or set it up. So I became a sapper, even though I had never done this before. So to speak, I put flying on hold. There were about 15 of us. But over time, some dropped out - something didn't suit them, so there were four of us left. Then I suggested that I would fly the "Mavic" and let Silver be a sapper. That's how we split up and have been working to this day: I fly the "Mavic", Zub - FPV, Silver is a sapper, and Chaplain is the group leader.

- I remembered Dumas's novel "TheThree Musketeers"...

- (laughing. - O.M.) Something like that. There are four of us, and we fight together. You know, we can even quarrel over some work-related issue, but in 15 minutes we have already forgotten and continue working. Because we have a common goal.

Let's talk more about your work. Before that, I'd like to ask you to tell me how you flew, how did you manage to do it?

- I flew for the first time when I was still a sapper. Everyone was given a "Mavic". Of course, I wanted to try it too. I didn't see anything complicated there. It's not an FPV that needs to be controlled very precisely, it's just a toy. It's cool! Perhaps that's why I eventually decided that I could fly a "Mavic".

What was the most difficult part?

- The loss of the first two drones. I was very upset. I just know how they are obtained - how much people raise money for them, how much time and nerves it takes. And I just took two "Mavics" in one day and put them down. The guys reassured me: "It happens!" But it was still hard for me mentally. I even said in my mind that I would find a new one and buy it. However, volunteers helped us, and our battalion provided us with drones. By the way, they are now supporting us with "birds". So now we don't ask people for "Mavics".

- Where did you lose those dronesIn Vovchansk?

- Yes. We were a little bit behind everyone else at the time, we didn't go ahead, as it was later in the Kursk region, where we were two kilometres from the contact line. You know, it was difficult to navigate at first. But your eyes get used to everything. Moreover, our Chaplain is very good at maps, so he quickly directs us if we get lost.

- Zub told methat you were also at the Kolotylivka checkpoint...

- We were helping the battalion. Then for the first time we came under very heavy fire. Our Chaplain was wounded. I remembered 2015, when we were also shelled and were sitting in dugouts. I thought that these were two completely different wars.

- Indeed, they now have many times more people, equipment, and dronesI often hear the following phrase from the military:there is always something hovering and flying around.

- That's exactly right. Recently, there was a situation: I was having a smoke break, something suddenly buzzed, I looked up and a wing was flying. It was good that it flew over us and fell a little further. They have these semicircular foam kamikazes.

- What is their situation with drones in your area?

- There are a lot of them! I fly "Mavic" and I see this large number of their drones. It's harder for us to get them than for them. But that's okay. Our country is also moving in this direction. I see from the news that we are 90 per cent capable of producing FPV components - motors, frames, etc. - on our own.

- But they are doing more than that.

- Unfortunately. And here, so to speak, people collect "on their knees". I'm very grateful to them for that!

- In general,what can you say about what is happening in the Kursk region?

- Everything is too intense.

- Analysts of the American Institute for the Study of War note that Russians are advancing here...

- Before the rotation, we held the right flank, and on the left flank we defeated the tankers a little bit. My godfather was among them. We hope he is in captivity... It was such a blow to me. I blame busification in this situation with the godfather. He was always helping the army, donating money. But in Kyiv, he was beaten and thrown into a bus. This is despite the fact that he had a reservation. He got to the front and did not return from his first combat mission...

I will tell you this: the Russians have a very large number of personnel here. We fly around all day long and see these groups of five or seven people. They are constantly climbing and climbing!

Do they no longer move in columns?

- No. Infantry in small groups. There is a river near us. They cannot cross it with vehicles. They crossed by boat, which we jammed with or without them.

- Speaking of personnelThere is already a lot of information that military personnel from North Korea are taking part in the battles for the Kursk region. Have you seen them?

- We did not see them. Our battalion encountered them when we were at home. They said that they were moving in large quantities. And boldly, without even trying to hide. He sees a "bird", just turns around and starts shooting at it. This caused a considerable loss of drones. And an ordinary Russian runs somewhere in the bushes and tries to hide. In the battles for Plekhove, there was a moment when he ran away, fell into the grass and started throwing it over himself so that he wouldn't be noticed (smiles - O.M.). But our "bird" came and did its job anyway. He did not hide. The grass did not help (smiles. - O.M.).

- How did you feel about the fact that the Russian army, which is already quite large, was also replenished with Koreans?

- We understood that the Kursk operation was invented to draw the Russians away from Donbas at least a little bit. Of course, it was insulting that they added Koreans so as not to take their own men from that area. But in general, for FPVs, it makes no difference whether they fly into a Korean or a Russian face. The main thing is an accurate result.

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- By the way, when you entered the Kursk region, what were your emotionsYou were already entering enemy territory.

- When we "crossed the ribbon", our Chaplain was injured. Because of this situation, we were upset and angry. There were only three of us left. The guys from the battalion asked if we could work like this. We hardly thought about it - we agreed. But we asked for some time, because when we had been rescuing our Chaplain, we had left all the equipment behind. We also needed a car. They gave us a pick-up truck. We flew back, packed everything and in a couple of days were already in the village of Plekhove. We came to do our job. Whether it was "behind the tape" made no difference to us. Perhaps, somewhere on a subconscious level, it mattered - for information. I called my wife because I try to keep her informed about my whereabouts. You understand that it can end in different ways... But we have to work. We help the battalion and do not ask whether it is on our territory or not.

- Do you have any superstitions at work?

- No. We can laugh at something like that and that's it.

- But there are obstacles. For example, the weather. Right now there was fog...

- It is very difficult to work in such circumstances. We lose "birds". But we need to fly. We try to use bombers to avoid wasting drones. It also happened that because of the thick fog they simply could not return home - they were lost. Wandered, wandered, the battery died - the loss of drone. It was no big deal. We recharged the other batteries and flew again. If there is a need and even a small opportunity to fly, we try to do it. We don't have a routine of switching off the equipment in the evening, sleeping, getting up at ten o'clock and flying. We work at any time, if we need to and if we can.

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- More often during the day or at night?

- During the day, because it's easier. And all the attacks happen at this time. Yes, we have night cameras on our FPV, so it's not a problem. But if, for example, there is fog, you can see something in the daytime camera, but not in the night camera.

- I saw a video of you looking out for four goats, mistaking them for SRGs at first.

- (laughs. - O.M.) Yes, yes! We couldn't understand what kind of group was in the forest! There were only black dots on the picture, because the FPV camera is not as good as the one on the "Mavic". We asked the command who was walking there. They answered that no one was there - neither ours nor anyone else's. When these goats came out on the field, Zub flew closer and filmed them.

- How do you deal with setbacks in yourwork?

- If we lose a drone, it's a shame, but we don't dwell on it. We just immediately assemble another one, attach everything, and "fire", because we understand that we need to stop the enemy.

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If we missed, it's okay. Flying back, the sapper meets the drone. As soon as it landed, the battery was changed, the ammunition stuck on and it took off again.

And if we hit it, we sit down and watch the stream until a new group comes on. But we don't work like the other guys. They fly for three to five days and then rest. It's different for us: we arrive and stay on site for 10-18 days. We don't have any rest, day or night. Sometimes we sleep for three hours. We can take a break whenever we have the opportunity. For example, it's raining. Zub is flying so hard that his glasses water with tears from the strain. He can sit down in the morning and work until the evening. It's easier for me because I look at the screen without glasses. But I'm also worried because I don't want to lose the drone because of EWs. You understand that this is not an FPV drone, so it will take a certain amount of time to get a new one.

- Do you have an EW?

- We carry it in a box (smiles - O.M.). Every time we go out, we take the EW, but we don't get it.

-Why?

- For some reason, it works out that way. But it's somehow calmer with it (smiles - O.M.). We are leaving - it's too early to hang up. When we get there, we see that we'll get through anyway. We don't even think about it: we just drive off once or twice. When we found a place, we quickly unloaded, hid the car and started working.

- And what is the enemy's situation with EWs?

- They have a lot of EWs. When we used to leave, the picture would disappear. And now my drone is flying, the connection is perfect, but the remote control does not obey. Their EWs sends it false commands. There's nothing I can do. It happened that I was trying to drop a grenade, but it didn't work. The drone turned and blew up. I have never seen anything like this in the year we have been at war.

I'll tell you this: when they are just entering somewhere, it's more or less the same. But when they have already settled, there is a lot of EWs.

What does this indicate?

- They definitely do not save money on the war.

- And, judging by the situation, they are not going to end it.

- I think they are not going to. The negotiations will be useless.

- There is a lot of talk now that the war may end in 2025I understand from your answer that you don't think so?

- In general, I really want this to happen... You know, I have an official deferral. But I'm not going to sit around and wait for the war to end. For some reason I do not believe that it will happen like this: bang! - and the book closed. I'm setting myself up for the fact that I need the strength to continue helping. Because, again, I have a feeling that it will not end quickly.

P.S.: Dear friends, the guys from the Drongo UAV Strike Group need drones to carry out their effective work to destroy the enemy. If you have the desire and ability to help, please join the fundraising. Bank Details:

🔗Link to the bank

https://send.monobank.ua/jar/31hRgsUyyt

💳Bank card number

4441 1111 2990 1124

Olha Moskaliuk, "Censor.NET"

Photos and video provided by the hero