In the Donetsk region, where Ukraine still holds ground, the city of Slovyansk has been worn down by months of Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs until fewer than one in ten of its former residents remain. It is one of four cities forming Ukraine's fortress belt, and a small drone unit, borrowing its name from a television gangster drama, now spends its days shooting down the aircraft sent against it. Those who stay are holding a line that now sits at the center of renewed talks in Abu Dhabi, where Russia wants the fortresses surrendered. Whether a city can be defended and bargained over
Inside Slovyansk: Ukraine's 'Peaky Blinders' drone unit defends a battered front-line city
Fewer than 10% of Slovyansk's pre-war population remains as the city endures heavy bombardment from Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs.
Fewer than one in ten of the people who lived there before the war remain.
Mark
Why does this one city matter so much?
Mimi
Slovyansk is one of four cities in Ukraine's fortress belt, the heavily reinforced defensive lines in the part of Donetsk Ukraine still holds. And Russia wants Kyiv to give those cities up.
Mark
And that's tied to the talks?
Mimi
Yes. The fortress cities are central to the peace talks that resumed in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine, Russia and the US, after nine months.
Luke
Careful there. We know the cities are central to the talks and that Russia wants them handed over. We don't know what has actually been offered or what Ukraine would accept.
Mark
What is the Peaky Blinders unit actually doing?
Mimi
Intercepting Russian drones. They named themselves after the BBC series, and they work inside a city hit by drones, missiles and glide bombs.
Luke
The report doesn't tell us how many drones they stop or how effective they are. That's a gap.
Mark
And the people?
Mimi
Under 10% of the pre-war population remains. The place is described as almost uninhabitable.
Luke
Worth noting that's a proportion, not an exact headcount, and the report gives no number for who is left.
El Pulso
- Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs strike Slovyansk almost without pause, leaving a city that is close to uninhabitable.
- Fewer than one in ten pre-war residents remain, so every day the streets grow quieter under fire.
- A Ukrainian drone unit calling itself the Peaky Blinders races to intercept incoming drones before they reach their targets.
- Russia demands the fortress cities be handed over just as peace talks restart in Abu Dhabi after nine months, and the outcome is still uncertain.
In the Donetsk region, where Ukraine still holds ground, the city of Slovyansk has been worn down by months of Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs until fewer than one in ten of its former residents remain. It is one of four cities forming Ukraine's fortress belt, and a small drone unit, borrowing its name from a television gangster drama, now spends its days shooting down the aircraft sent against it. Those who stay are holding a line that now sits at the center of renewed talks in Abu Dhabi, where Russia wants the fortresses surrendered. Whether a city can be defended and bargained over at once is the question that hangs above the rubble.
Slovyansk, in the part of Donetsk that Ukraine still holds, is under almost constant attack. Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs have hit it for so long that it has become close to uninhabitable, and fewer than one in ten of those who lived there before the war are still there.
The BBC's Jonathan Beale reported from inside the city. Slovyansk is one of four cities in what Ukraine calls its fortress belt, a line of heavily reinforced defences that stands between Russian forces and the rest of the Ukrainian-held east.
Inside it, a Ukrainian drone unit has taken on one hard job: stopping Russian drones before they reach their targets. They call themselves the Peaky Blinders, after the television series, and they meet incoming drones with drones of their own.
The fortress cities are also a diplomatic prize. Russia wants Kyiv to give them up, and talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States have resumed in Abu Dhabi after nine months. The city now sits where two questions meet: whether its defenders can hold under fire, and whether it will be traded at the table. What to watch is whether the talks move the fortress belt's future, and whether the pressure on Slovyansk eases or grows while they continue.
Slovyansk, in the part of Donetsk that Ukraine still holds, is a city under almost constant attack. Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs have hit it for long enough that it has become close to uninhabitable. Fewer than one in ten of the people who lived there before the war are still in it.
The BBC's Jonathan Beale reported from inside the city. Slovyansk is one of four cities that make up what Ukraine calls its fortress belt, a system of heavily reinforced defensive lines running through the portion of Donetsk region that Kyiv continues to control. The belt is the main obstacle between Russian forces and the rest of the Ukrainian-held east.
Inside that battered city, one group has taken on a specific job: stopping Russian drones before they reach their targets. The members are a Ukrainian drone unit, and they call themselves the Peaky Blinders, after the cult BBC television series. Their work is interception, meeting incoming Russian drones with drones of their own in a city where those aircraft are one of several kinds of weapon arriving daily.
The scale of the departure from the city is the plainest measure of what the bombardment has done. Under 10% of the pre-war population remains. Those who stay live in a place that is hit by weapons of three different kinds: small drones, missiles and glide bombs. The report describes the town as almost uninhabitable, and that is the setting in which the unit works.
The fortress cities are not only a military matter. Russia wants Kyiv to give them up, and they have become central to the diplomacy now under way. Talks on a possible peace deal between Ukraine, Russia and the United States have resumed in Abu Dhabi after a gap of nine months.
That places Slovyansk at the intersection of two questions. One is whether a handful of drone crews and the reinforced lines around them can keep the city in Ukrainian hands under continuing fire. The other is whether the city, along with the other three in the belt, will be treated as a bargaining chip at the negotiating table. Russia's demand is that Ukraine hand them over.
What to watch is whether the Abu Dhabi talks make any progress on the status of the fortress belt, and whether the pressure on Slovyansk eases or intensifies while they continue.
Citas Notables
Russia wants Kyiv to give up the fortress cities, which are central to the resumed peace talks.— BBC News report by Jonathan Beale
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en BBC News ↗
War & Conflict