The commander stepped over boxes full of plastic drones and opened the lid of a new delivery. Inside lay the pale gray fins of a mini-plane, the latest addition to its arsenal of crewless aircraft for the fight against the Russian military.
The 33-year-old leader of what an internal report says is the Ukrainian military’s best-performing drone unit, Senior Lt. Yuriy Fedorenko – popularly known by his nickname Achilles – has been the main obstacle to the Russian attempt to capture the strategic city. from Chasiv Yar on Ukraine’s tottering eastern front.
For months, his drone teams, part of the 92nd Assault Brigade, have filled a gap for other Army units facing shortages of troops and ammunition. The teams work day and night attacking Russian armor, dropping explosives on Russian positions and using their drones to transport supplies to Ukrainian soldiers along the front line.
