**Ukraine’s Desperate Fight Against Russian Drones**
As the sun sets in Ukraine’s north-eastern region of Sumy, a small group of Ukrainian troops emerges from the treeline to face an impossible task. Their mission is to shoot down 21st-century killer drones using weapons designed in the dying days of World War One.
Every night, these troops engage in a desperate battle against Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which are terrorizing Ukraine with their low-cost and long-range capabilities. The troops, part of the 117 Territorial Defence Brigade, are a “mobile fire unit” made up of locals trying to defend their homeland.
**The Human Cost**
But the war is not just about drones and guns. It’s about people like Margaryta Husakova, 37, whose life was shattered when her bus was ripped apart by a Russian drone on May 17. The attack killed nine civilians, including her mother, uncle, and sister. Margaryta survived with a shattered right arm, but the trauma she experienced will last a lifetime.
“I opened my eyes, and there was no bus,” she said, her voice breaking. “I looked around and my sister’s head was torn off. My mum too, she was lying there, hit in the temple. My uncle had fallen out of the bus, his brain was exposed.”
**The Never-Ending War**
As we spoke with Margaryta at a sand-bagged reception centre for evacuees, an air raid siren wailed overhead, but nobody responded. The sound has become so familiar that it’s no longer alarming. This is the reality of life in Ukraine – a never-ending cycle of war and fear.
US President Donald Trump’s promises of peace have long faded, and talks between Russia and Ukraine have only led to prisoner exchanges and the return of bodies. President Putin appears emboldened, and his demands are increasing.
The troops we met expect more winters of war ahead. One battle-hardened soldier, call sign “student,” told us that he thinks the war won’t end in the next year or two, and even if it does, it will start again in four or five years. President Putin’s imperialist ambitions, he believes, are driving this conflict.
**The Unseen Wounds**
War inflicts wounds – both seen and unseen. Student sent his family abroad for safety soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has been unable to see his two daughters since then. He and his wife are now divorced, a casualty of the war that has shattered their lives.
This is the reality of Ukraine today – a desperate fight against an enemy that seems endless, with no clear victory in sight. The troops are fighting not just for their country but for their families, their homes, and their very existence.
**Additional Reporting by Wietske Burema, Moose Campbell, and Volodymyr Lozhko**
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