drones, cannons, missile launchers… the Ukrainians resist thanks to the Western arsenal

In boxes are military surveillance drones. A France 2 team followed Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbass. The unit sinks into the thickets. The remote-controlled planes they operate were delivered by the Americans a fortnight ago. The installation takes place in a trench. The risk is to be spotted by other drones, but this time, those of the Russians.

In three and a half months of conflict, these computer scientists monitored by France 2 have become essential to the Ukrainian forces. “I still have my contract with the American company I worked for before the war. And even if I fight, they continue to pay me my salary”, says one of them. To launch the drone, you have to get into the open. The device will monitor the Donetsk region, an area held by pro-Russian forces. “We will fly to a target to help the gunners aim well” explains a Ukrainian soldier.

This unit recently lost two men, killed by shelling on their positions. But there is no question of giving up. Moreover, they are not the ones who fire on the targets: it is the guns positioned further away.