The "Aktuaalne kaamera" team accompanied Ukrainian soldiers to what is referred to as a small air-defense position, at around 5 a.m. The defenders' are tasked with destroying enemy drones using their own loitering munitions, which can fly only in daylight, so the drone dogfight in the skies for that day begins as the sun rises.

Most of the well-known Russian drones are being deployed.

"We work against strategic reconnaissance and attack drones and FPV drones. The winged attack drones are the Molniya and the ZALA Lancet . FPV drones are in a smaller category. The reconnaissance drones are the Zala, the Lancet, the Supercam, and the Orlan. We work against all of them," Ukrainian soldier "Tourist" said.

Shaheds have a speed of around 200 kilometers an hour, however, so givent he FPV drones have a top speed of 140 kilometers an hour, they cannot stop the Shaheds, which often fly faster than intel can keep up.

"We consider where the target is located, in which direction it is moving. We also take the wind direction into account — whether we must fly downwind or into the wind. It can happen that that information comes too late, and then we have to chase after the target," "Tourist" went on.

With that in mind, Russian drones have a reach as far as 40 kilometers into Ukraine's rear.

To help manage things, air defenses are divided into sectors, with specific crews responsible for each sector.

"Our second crew is far behind us. They can fly as far as we are, but there's no point. By the time they reach us, the target is already far away," "Tourist" went on.

The crew's area of responsibility looks like a patchwork of similar-looking fields, when viewed on the screen.

"We've been flying here for a long time. In addition, we've trodden the ground through all these places. I remember them all, and from above, you can see even better. It only appears that they're all the same. In fact, they are all different. Each field has its own particularities," Ukrainian soldier "VV" explained.

"When we come to a new position, we first set up our equipment and carry out a test flight. We fly across the entire work area and identify all problematic spots, where and at what altitude we can operate. Somewhere we can be at the minimum altitude, somewhere at the maximum," "Tourist" added.

When a drone misses its target, it gets brought back to the rear for battery replacement, while a fresh drone is deployed.

And when an attack hits home, it pays off.

"My hands shake. Every time I hit a drone, I get an adrenaline rush. FPVs are harder to hit because that target is moving all the time. It has good reconnaissance and maneuvering capability," "Tourist" said right after successfully striking an enemy drone.

"You have to circle a lot in the air because it can fly left or right. It doesn't have a turning indicator," "VV" noted.

Twelve hours later, at 5 p.m., it is getting dark, meaning the end of the "shift." The team ERR visited made 12 flights, hit two targets, and did not lose a single one of their own drones, during that time, which "Tourist" said was a fairly standard day. "We can also have days where we start in the morning and only finish when all the batteries run out. That means our charging stations can't charge them fast enough," he added.

An interactive map of the Ukraine front updated in real time is here.

Ukraine has been waging a successful twin-pronged aerial offensive against Russia since late summer. The most spectacular of these are strikes on Russian oil refineries, bunkers and other facilities, but Ukraine has also had successes, somewhat harder to detect and more reparable from a Russian perspective, on power stations and electricity infrastructure. Even more elusive to get a clear picture of is successful strikes on Russia's own air defenses, but it is likely U.S. intel sharing since August has been a help here, twinned with increased sanctions and secondary sanctions on countries like India, which purchase Russian crude.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!