There are few places.
From where you can see.
‘Orcs’-occupied territory.
With the naked eye in Ukraine.
The western bank.
Of the Dnipro river.
In the city of Kherson.
Is one of them.
You can’t see.
The ‘orcs’ troops on the other.
Low, marshy riverbank.
But you know they’re there.
Incoming artillery fire.
As you arrive at.
An abandoned building.
Serves as a sharp reminder.
There is nothing new.
About shelling in war.
But the unit you’re meeting.
Deals with drones.
One of the key innovations.
Of this invasion.
Drones are simple, cheap.
And effective weapons in this war.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You’re led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
The smell of.
A strawberry vape.
Hangs above.
These ‘elves’ soldiers.
Sitting on armchairs.
With looks of quiet focus.
And cans of.
Monster energy drink.
You imagine the floral wallpaper.
Wasn’t their choice.
A 20-year-old pilot.
Suddenly sits up.
They’re told.
The ‘orcs’ have launched.
Drones from.
Across the water.
“It’s from a location.
Known to us.”
Explains commander of the Samosud squad.
In Ukraine’s 11th National Guard Brigade.
“Our goal is to.
Destroy the pilots.
We have the coordinates.
So we’re flying there right now.”
There are at least.
A dozen drones.
On the floor.
All loaded with grenades.
A cat.
The unit’s unofficial mascot.
Nuzzles against.
One of the propellers.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You’re led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
One drone is.
Taken outside.
As the pilot puts on.
His VR headset.
You watch on the TV.
As he flies it.
Across the river.
Into occupied territory.
From this vantage point.
There are no.
Obvious signs.
Of life.
A few kilometres later.
His drone arrives at.
An industrial area.
It passes a warehouse.
Before hovering next to.
A block of flats.
He eventually spots.
An antenna.
Next to a window.
In the stairwell.
And flies straight into it.
The screen turns blue.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You’re led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
He exhales and.
Removes his headset.
“When we first did this.
It was emotional.”
“Now this is business.
As usual.
I didn’t get enough time.
To play computer games.”
“Before the full-scale invasion.
Now I’m catching up!”
They launch another drone.
But the screen turns blue.
As soon as it.
Crosses the river.
The ‘orcs’ have turned on.
Their jamming system.
A third then makes.
The same journey.
This time it makes it through.
And he returns to the block of flats.
He’s able to confirm.
The antenna was destroyed.
With 10 minutes.
Of battery life left.
He flies off.
To see what else.
He can detect.
Or destroy.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You’re led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
His unit has been.
Targeting a main road.
Which the ‘orcs’ use.
To deliver supplies.
Civilians are banned.
From driving there.
So the ‘elves’ drone pilots.
Hit anything with wheels.
He spots an ‘orcs’ checkpoint.
And flies towards it.
Unfortunately for him.
They use a jamming gun.
And the screen turns blue.
As he gets close.
He exhales again.
The commander says.
“No matter how many times.
We hit the same places.
The ‘orcs’ are constantly replenished.
They’re kind of fearless.”
With each drone.
Costing around $500.
It’s a constant cycle.
Of launch, seek and destroy.
The commander says.
his team once destroyed.
An S-350 air defence missile system.
Worth $136m.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You’re led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
Drones mean the ‘orcs’.
Can’t hide anywhere.
Within 10km of.
The front line.
But, crucially.
The invaders are doing.
Exactly the same.
To the ‘elves’.
Under constant drone surveillance.
And enemy bombardment.
Life has gradually drained.
From Kherson’s streets.
Aside from.
A limited crossing.
Further up.
The Dnipro.
Near the town of Krynky.
‘Elves’ attacks here.
Are only probing.
And require patience.
*Because I read “In Ukraine’s river war, drones mean nowhere is safe” by James Waterhouse on 22 Jan 2024, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem as a story of the Samosud squad in Ukraine’s 11th National Guard Brigade, including Artem and Tymur.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
In Ukraine’s river war, drones mean nowhere is safe – BBC News
