1/ The screech of drones (sound on) has become the defining sound of the Russia-Ukraine war. Two Russian commentaries describe what it's like in an environment where, according to Russian sources, Ukrainian drones outnumber Russian by seven to one. ⬇️
2/ 'Den Surca', written by a frontline Russian soldier, gives an insight into the psychological impact of 24/7 drone warfare:
3/ "There is absolutely nothing to write about. Every day is full of events and tension - but even so, nothing inside wants to even try to cling to some moment.
Several of our dugouts were burned. I passed by – I saw these pits filled with ash and burnt metal.
Several of our dugouts were burned. I passed by – I saw these pits filled with ash and burnt metal.
4/ "Now we are huddled in other places, not so comfortable and, literally, almost on top of each other. Several people were buried under the thickness of the earth during this time and only three survived and dug out ...
5/ If someone could predict the weather - maybe there would be no yesterday. Three of us went for food in the morning - two returned in the evening, one of us had his spine damaged by shrapnel.
6/ The most offensive thing is an accidental short-range, an accidental shrapnel that flew under a bulletproof vest ... And an hour and a half of hell for all of us - to pull out, provide assistance, wait for evacuation and hide, hide, hide from the omnipresent eyes of the enemy.
7/ "To shrink into a green lump soaked in adrenaline in the bushes under the nasty ringing of kamikaze drones screwing into your ears...
In the morning the fog descends and everything comes to life. People scurry back and forth carrying food, water, wires... Oh, wires?
In the morning the fog descends and everything comes to life. People scurry back and forth carrying food, water, wires... Oh, wires?
8/ "They're coming to us. We drag a broken and thousand-times-patched field telephone line through the fog from one dugout to another to invite the mythical Light to visit.
9/ "No, I don't want to keep it in my memory or notes at all – all these adrenaline roller coasters, snatches of sleep, rapidly thinning faces and an eternal shortage of cigarettes.
10/ "Sometimes I catch myself thinking that that's it – I'm so tired that it's time to throw on a backpack and go back and forth for something else and die if I die.
11/ "But the body greedily clings to life and the cigarettes smoulder, burning my fingers with the next drag, in the darkness of the dugouts."
In a similar vein, 'Marmot of the burning steppes' describes the difficulty of movement while under drone attack:
In a similar vein, 'Marmot of the burning steppes' describes the difficulty of movement while under drone attack:
12/ "The top 10 most unpleasant situations (according to my personal shit-o-meter) that my colleagues and I regularly find ourselves in include a situation where you sit for hours with a car, motorcycle, ATV in a small safe zone, bushes, a forest, or even in a postcard-sized…
13/ …hole without the opportunity to eat because of the incessant movement of drones. Even if you shoot one down, another will take its place within a couple of minutes.
14/ "An incessant stream of kamikazes can hold you in one place for hours, and if one finds a target, catches it in motion and blocks the passage with debris, you can safely spread out your sleeping bag and wait for the next day...
15/ "Stuck at the exit from the forest, at a sighted point, under tank attacks, two minutes – arrival, two minutes – arrival. And on the radio piercing warnings about swarms of kamikazes in the fields.
16/ "I don’t know how long ago I caught a terrible feeling of hopelessness, but today it was definitely there. It’s in moments like these that the saying “there are no atheists in the trenches” comes into play.
17/ "In such a situation, you definitely rely on blind chance, each time realizing that the arrival is 50 meters away. Or 30. Or you get hit on the head when the branches of a tree snapped in half fly at your head.
18/ "And at that moment, such a beautiful, refreshing, like ice-cold kvass in the desert, "the sky is clear" and kilograms of sand from under the skidding wheels, the engine, with the fuse forcibly disconnected,…
19/ …140 km/h on the plaintively burning warning sign of the speedometer, the bumps are not swallowed by the suspension, they fly by.
I had to jump out on the road from off-road and again: ‘The sky is dirty! ‘Take cover!’
I had to jump out on the road from off-road and again: ‘The sky is dirty! ‘Take cover!’
20/ "And flying into the garage, I run off the ATV, because my thighs are naturally ready to be covered in blisters from the heat pouring from the ringing cooling engine.
21/ "But, no, the kamikaze whirls around, does not let me breathe fully, again and again the ominous squeal of motors, looking for us, looking where the cars are hidden, until it receives a charge of pellets.
And back on the road again. And so on by leaps and bounds.
And back on the road again. And so on by leaps and bounds.
22/ "Permutations. Each of which is a spin of the drum in the "Field of Miracles" of Russian roulette, where each victory is not only a consequence of discipline, endurance and the ability to be ready for action for a long time, but also a blind chance.
23/ "And, finally, here it is. A bright, warm dugout, with a roaring stove, sweet tea, a tasty cookie. And a strong desire to fall and pour all the shit out of this night." /end
Sources:
🔹 t.me/den_surca/713
🔹 t.me/bobak_prairie/…
🔹 t.me/bobak_prairie/…
Sources:
🔹 t.me/den_surca/713
🔹 t.me/bobak_prairie/…
🔹 t.me/bobak_prairie/…
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