Ukraine-Russia: Hidden tech war as Slovyansk battle looms

Dmytro fought against the second war, most of them were invisible. He led the unit only 10 soldiers who formed Dnipro 1. Dmytro Drone Intelligence Unit said he would rather call it “those who fight”. Everything is volunteer. Most of them have information technology background, and know each other before the war begins.

On cellphones, one of the teams showed a recorder of the drone of the Russian target they had destroyed – their “big big hit”.

Dmytro stated it: “One tank, three or four artillery weapons, two mortar positions and five or six ammunition disposal sites.”

Good results are only for 10 people,” he said, before smiling. They have fought in Rubizhne and Severodonetsk – cities captured by Russia. Now they are preparing to maintain Slovyansk.

I think Slovyansk will be the next big target for Russia,” said one of his teams. I asked if he thought they would be able to stop the progress of Russia. “Sure,” he said.

Drones or unmanned air vehicles (UAV) have been widely used in other wars, but not on this scale. They are the main weapons for Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have a bigger military drone-like Russian Orlan-10 or the famous Bayaraktar in Ukraine, a Turkish drone. They are often more expensive and complex and can be easier to target and shot.

The most drone everywhere in this battle is a commercial drone, the type that you or I can buy from a shelf. They are also cheap and easy to replace.Both parties use them to see the position of the enemy and then help direct and improve their own artillery shots on the target. But this small drone is also equipped with explosives.