The war in Ukraine has become a grinding test of attrition, where movement on the map is measured in metres, not miles. In the frozen wastelands where this fight is being waged, it feels never-ending.
At stake are huge consequences not just for Ukrainians, but for Europe and the wider international order – whether borders can be changed by force.
On the ground, the conflict feels less like grand strategy and more like a daily slog to survive.
We joined a unit from the 117th Brigade, tasked with defending one of the most heavily contested areas of the Donbas, known as the “fortress belt”.
Just getting to their positions is a test of nerve, as moving forward often means walking across open ground. It is terrifying.
All around, the landscape bears the scars of war. It used to be only the scream of a shell you had to fear, but now it is also the menacing buzz of a drone – and the sky here is full of them.
A drone spots us
The soldiers scan the skies for any unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and use handheld drone detectors.
One drone heads over our position, hunting for a target, and the radio soon alerts us that it is tracking back. The drone detector doesn’t stop bleeping, indicating that our movement has been spotted.
We hear it before we see it, and the increasingly louder whizzing sound means the drone is getting closer and closer.
The deputy commander we are with opens fire with his assault rifle, and another soldier joins the fight. While hitting a small, fast-moving target is not easy, it’s the only way to combat the threat and has become routine for the soldiers.
We are relieved when we see the drone fall from the sky, but there is no time to linger, as more drones could follow and artillery might be called in on our position.
The next leg of the journey to the village where the unit is stationed is by quad bike, racing over icy roads.
As we speed forward, smashed Ukrainian vehicles lie abandoned along the route; they are stark reminders of the danger ahead.
Ukrainian drones are our eyes in the sky, tracking our movement overhead, thereby offering some protection.
Cheap, mass-produced and deadly
The small “drone hunter” unit operates largely in the shadows, helping protect the logistical hub of Sloviansk, a key city anchoring the defensive line in eastern Ukraine.
Inside their bunker, where they live and plan missions, they show us a drone they shot down that morning. It is cheap, mass-produced and deadly.
Bohdan, the commander of the anti-aircraft battery unit of the 117th Brigade, explains: “There are men working with pump-action shotguns because the drones fly at their lowest altitude there.
“That is within the effective range for a shotgun. But here, they fly higher and faster so the Kalashnikov is the most effective tool.”
Desperate fight for survival
The drones are relentless, and the landscape has been battered by years of war.
The soldiers show us something extraordinary: two civilians are still living in this shattered place.
For four years, Alexander and his wife have survived under constant bombardment. He tells me they are frightened, but have no money and nowhere to go.
As we speak, we move for cover, as another drone has been spotted overhead.
For the men defending this territory, the danger is constant.
One soldier describes the rhythm of their days: “It happens two, three times a day: icy roads, sleeper drones, flying drones, and the Russians. It couldn’t be more dangerous. Threats from everywhere – within seconds.”
Life in eastern Ukraine is a desperate fight for survival.
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Secret underground bunker
We are taken to a secret location deep in a forest. Access to the brigade’s headquarters is tightly restricted.
Inside, we descend into a bunker – a labyrinth of screens and monitors that reflects what this war has become.
This is now a conflict of microchips and mud, with drones sketching digital kill chains and men doing whatever they must to survive.
Colonel Dmytro Yaroshenk, the commander of the 117th Brigade, says the transformation has been profound: “The war has changed fundamentally.
“We used to fight ‘on horseback’, so to speak; now we fight in the sky. We’re even taking down helicopters with drones. Not my brigade specifically, but there are units doing it.”
On one screen, he shows us what remains of a group of Russian soldiers who tried to use the mist to launch a probing attack. Surveillance drones – and the algorithms guiding them – see everything and everyone.
“Logistics are currently a nightmare because technology has evolved so much; drones are flying almost everywhere. If the enemy spots a vehicle, it’s highly likely to be quickly destroyed,” the colonel adds.
Another image appears: a bunker where Russian troops were spotted entering. Attack drones are called in, striking the hideout. No one comes out.
The 21st century has fused with the muddied trench battlefields of the First World War, and the result is grim and brutal.
The fighting here may feel remote to those thousands of miles away, but the implications are not.
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This war will help determine whether might makes right in the 21st century, whether international law is enforced or eroded.
After four years of merciless combat, the battle for the Donbas is about more than territory. It is about the kind of world that will emerge when the guns finally fall silent.
