When Russian armored columns rolled into Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow’s confidence was so high, troops packed ceremonial parade kits instead of combat supplies.

Instead, Ukrainian units picked apart a stalled 40-mile-long convoy outside Kyiv, an early, brutal sign the invasion would not be the quick victory the Kremlin promised.

Three and a half years on, Moscow is stuck in a war of attrition, sending waves of men to try to breach Ukraine’s “ drone wall .”

Embedded with a Ukrainian drone unit, I watched Russian motorcycle detachments riding into open fields — only to be cut down after being spotted.

“They must remember what happened to the last group,” said Andrii of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade. “Still, they keep coming.”

Bohdan, a drone pilot from the same brigade

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