After eight months of.
Brutal urban fighting.
Characterized by.
The demolition of entire highrises.
‘Orcs’ forces claimed.
Full control of.
The city of Toretsk.
In eastern Ukraine in early February.
A month later.
The ‘orcs’ are retreating.
A month later.
The ‘orcs’ are retreating.
Seth, that flies lazy circles.
Over the battlefield.
Scanning for the distinctive shapes.
Of ‘orcs’ vehicles.
The propeller-driven Seth.
Automatically homes in.
Striking with a warhead.
Weighing around 10 pounds.
An ‘elves’ force anchored by.
The 12th Azov Brigade plus.
Military police units.
And territorials.
The latter the equivalent of.
The U.S. Army National Guard.
Has pushed the ‘orcs’.
2nd Combined Arms Army.
Out of much of Toretsk.
A mining city with.
A pre-war population.
Of 30,000.
‘Elves’ troops advanced.
On Druzhby Street.
In the center of Toretsk.
In the center of Toretsk.
And on Budivelnykiv Street.
Farther south.
It was reported Sunday.
‘Elves’ troops advanced.
Seth, that flies lazy circles.
Over the battlefield.
Scanning for the distinctive shapes.
Of ‘orcs’ vehicles.
The propeller-driven Seth.
Automatically homes in.
Striking with a warhead.
Weighing around 10 pounds.
How the ‘elves’ have reversed.
The tide in Toretsk.
Comes down.
To two factors:
‘Orcs’ weariness and.
‘Elves’ drone superiority.
‘Orcs’ weariness and.
‘Elves’ drone superiority.
After losing more than.
Half a million troops.
And 15,000 vehicles.
Since February 2022.
The ‘orcs’ force in Ukraine.
Is badly in need of.
Rest and reset.
“All the signs are there”.
“All the signs are there”.
Of ‘orcs’ exhaustion.
The head of ‘elves’.
Intelligence directorate said.
Seth, that flies lazy circles.
Over the battlefield.
Scanning for the distinctive shapes.
Of ‘orcs’ vehicles.
The propeller-driven Seth.
Automatically homes in.
Striking with a warhead.
Weighing around 10 pounds.
The ‘elves’ are exhausted, too.
Of course;
They’ve lost around.
300,000 troops.
They’ve lost around.
300,000 troops.
And have fewer to spare.
And have fewer to spare.
But the ‘elves’ armed forces.
Have one key advantage.
In most sectors of.
The 800-mile front line.
Threading through.
Southern and eastern Ukraine.
Into western ‘Mordor’’s.
Kursk Oblast:
Their drones.
But the ‘elves’ armed forces.
Have one key advantage.
Their drones.
Seth, that flies lazy circles.
Over the battlefield.
Scanning for the distinctive shapes.
Of ‘orcs’ vehicles.
The propeller-driven Seth.
Automatically homes in.
Striking with a warhead.
Weighing around 10 pounds.
With a few key exceptions.
‘Elves’ drones are.
Higher quality.
And more resistant.
Higher quality.
And more resistant.
To enemy radio jamming.
Than ‘orcs’ drones.
In Toretsk.
The 12th Azov Brigade.
Has begun using.
A new drone type.
Seth, that flies lazy circles.
Over the battlefield.
Scanning for the distinctive shapes.
Of ‘orcs’ vehicles.
The propeller-driven Seth.
Automatically homes in.
Striking with a warhead.
Weighing around 10 pounds.
A Seth apparently.
Can beam video.
Back to its operators.
But may not have to.
It keeps station.
By way of.
A multi-channel GPS receiver.
That’s resistant to jamming.
Its autonomy makes it.
Hard to defeat.
—short of simply.
Shooting it down.
Seth, that flies lazy circles.
Over the battlefield.
Scanning for the distinctive shapes.
Of ‘orcs’ vehicles.
The propeller-driven Seth.
Automatically homes in.
Striking with a warhead.
Weighing around 10 pounds.
‘Orcs’ troops in Toretsk.
Are reportedly attacking.
On motorcycles.
Instead of slower-moving tanks.
On motorcycles.
Instead of slower-moving tanks.
In hopes of dodging.
‘Elves’ drones.
The dangerous combination.
Of exhaustion of.
Relentless drone attacks.
Also explains.
Why the ‘orcs’ are also.
Retreating around Pokrovsk.
30 miles southeast.
Of Toretsk.
Seth, that flies lazy circles.
Over the battlefield.
Scanning for the distinctive shapes.
Of ‘orcs’ vehicles.
The propeller-driven Seth.
Automatically homes in.
Striking with a warhead.
Weighing around 10 pounds.
But those dynamics.
Cut both ways.
In Kursk.
It’s the ‘elves’.
Who are starving for supplies.
Under attack.
By high-tech drones.
—and retreating.
*Because I read “Ukraine’s Best New Drone Is Named ‘Seth’” by David Axe on 10 Mar 2025 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a report of the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies, and a story of Kyrylo Budanov.
Please read the original story on the Forbes:
Under The Cover Of Drones, Ukrainian Troops Push Back In Toretsk
