Russia's military launches a steady stream of drones and missiles at Ukraine, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds. It's often up to volunteers to try and keep the country's skies safe — ordinary citizens who have only old weapons at their disposal. DW traveled to the town of Pereyaslav to meet one of the volunteer teams.
Exclusive | How Ukraine volunteers down Russia drones with pick-up trucks and WWII guns
Thousands of Ukrainian civilian volunteers recently ventured into Ukraine's countryside in the dead of night loaded with World War II-era guns and pick-up trucks to go hunting — for Russian...
On the ground with Ukraine’s volunteer drone hunters
In a small town south-east of Kyiv, a team of civilians sit in the back of a pickup truck with machine guns pointed at the sky hoping to shoot down Iranian-made drones that target the Ukrainian capital…
Listen, Run, Hide
Since the summer of 2024, Russian forces have increasingly armed quadcopter drones and used them to chase, injure, and kill residents living in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
Russia’s FPV drone campaign in Ukraine institutionalizes intentional civilian harm as a tool of war
Russia's use of FPV drones to strike civilian targets in Ukraine indicates a culture seeking to weaponize civilian harm as a tool of war.
In Ukraine, a New Arsenal of Killer A.I. Drones Is Being Born
As the war grinds on, sophisticated Russian defenses have pushed Ukraine to develop a frightening new weapon: semiautonomous killing machines.
Ukraine trains civilians and journalists to survive under drone attacks
Public administrations and NGOs are preparing citizens in risk zones with action manuals and survival courses
Ukraine trains civilians and journalists to survive under drone attacks
Public administrations and NGOs are preparing citizens in risk zones with action manuals and survival courses
‘I’m fighting two wars. One against the Russians. And one inside myself.’
A drone pilot and her all-women unit are waging a new kind of warfare on Ukraine’s eastern front
These Ukrainian women survived a massacre. Now, they're shooting down Russian drones
Women from a Kyiv suburb traumatized by a 2022 massacre by Russian troops joined an all-female volunteer air defense unit to deal with their fears.
As Russia’s fiber optic drones flood the battlefield, Ukraine is racing to catch up
Editor’s Note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. Every year, as the way war is fought constantly evolves on the battlefields of Ukraine, the visuals of the fighting on the ground that constantly flood the internet transform with it. In the frantic first weeks of the full-scale invasion, it was Russian tanks stolen by farmers tossing their turrets after Ukrainian Javelin strikes.
Drug cartel operatives snuck into Ukraine for drone training: report
The revelations highlight Ukraine’s unintended emergence as a training ground for modern asymmetric warfare techniques amid the conflict with Russia.
Ukraine is paying civilians up to $2,400 a month to shoot down Russian drones with whatever they can find
The new measure says paid volunteers have the right to use their personal cars, drones, or even hunting guns to fight off drones.
Ukraine's DIY drone makers are helping fighters on the front lines
The war in Ukraine is now largely being fought with drones. Ukraine made 2 million last year. Drone makers churn them out in factories and mom-and-pop operations like one in a Kyiv basement apartment.
The Impact of Drones on the Battlefield: Lessons of the Russia-Ukraine War from a French Perspective
View PDF The Russia-Ukraine War is not just a geopolitical earthquake—it is a tactical and technological inflection point. While many initially focused on tanks and artillery, the war’s defining feature has become the mass deployment of cheap, disposable, and networked technologies—especially drones, loitering munitions, and small-scale electromagnetic warfare systems.
These Ukrainian Drones Don’t Just Kill. They Deliver Oatmeal Cookies.
In a war where drones are synonymous with destruction, some are also used to drop care packages to Ukraine’s frontline soldiers.
Recent Developments in Drone Threats to Humanitarians
The threat of drones to humanitarians is a rising concern. High-profile incidents—such as the fatal multiple-strike attack on an aid convoy in Gaza in April 2024—have made this dynamic an even greater priority for risk managers.Global data on this emerging threat is currently defined by the rapid increase and volume of drone attacks perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine, and to a lesser extent, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In other contexts, like Sudan, Iraq, and Syria, governments are also the primary perpetrators of drone incidents. Nonetheless, the list of drone operators in complex humanitarian settings has increased and diversified since 2022, particularly among organised armed groups (OAGs), driving further interest within the humanitarian community.
