Hell in high definition: Inside front-line aerial unit surveilling battle of Bakhmut

Editor’s Note: The Ukrainian soldiers featured in this article are identified by first names and callsigns to protect their identities.

BAKHMUT, Donetsk Oblast – On the screen of a large handheld remote control, a Ukrainian drone operator scans a gray, washed-out landscape of ruined houses and muddy trenches.

It isn’t long before movement is spotted. A small Russian assault team is advancing on a Ukrainian trench in a field, just past the last line of houses on the edge of the city.

“Look, he’s shooting now,” says the drone pilot, pointing to a shabby gray figure with a rifle raised. “And another, just over there, he just threw a grenade.”

The Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are now less than 30 meters from each other.

“We don't have anything to shoot at them with, but at this point it would be too dangerous anyway, we could hit our own guys,” says the pilot.

Caked in the mud of their landscape, the Russian soldiers disappear from sight as soon as they appeared. The pilot takes note of the spot and pans away, looking for other targets.

The remote is in the hands of "Rem", a former car dealer from Dnipro. Rem belongs to Skala, a separate battalion in the Ukrainian army tasked with aerial reconnaissance and assault operations that has been posted in Bakhmut since late autumn.

Sitting in the corridor of an industrial building inside Bakhmut city in the eastern Donetsk Oblast, Rem and his senior officer Duke are operating a high-end DJI quadcopter drone, prized for its great zoom capabilities.

In coordination with several different Ukrainian units in their sector, the pair identify targets, correct artillery fire, and provide general reconnaissance support with their high-definition broadcast.

Not far from where fighting was earlier seen, Rem has spotted something. “It’s an automatic grenade launcher position, providing cover for the assault.”

“Pions with clusters,” Rem calls into the radio, specifying his weapon and munition of choice for the target. Firing 203mm shells, the 2S7 Pion, a formidable Soviet-era self-propelled artillery wielded by both sides, is the largest caliber howitzer used in the war.

“It’s perfect for an enemy gathering of this size,” he says, “but we will hit them with whatever we have.”

Christmas decorations hang in the corridor where Rem and Duke operate their drone in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on Dec. 29, 2022. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent)

Commercially available drones have carried out a multitude of functions on both sides of the war, with much of them developed right on the battlefield.

As Russia continues to assault Bakhmut and its outskirts, the sight of some of the heaviest hostilities along the entire front line, drone teams like Rem’s are not short of work.

Bakhmut lies at the intersection of several major roads crucial to Ukraine’s defense of northern Donetsk Oblast. After a series of major Russian battlefield defeats over autumn, the accent on Bakhmut is also political, to achieve even just one small military victory and counter concerns at home that Russia is losing the war.

Under cover of artillery and grenade launcher fire, small Russian assault squads are making slow and steady advances, capturing Ukrainian positions and doing their best to defend themselves against counterattacks.

Observing the work of the Skala drone unit for three hours, the Kyiv Independent gained a rare, real-time look at the fierce battles for Bakhmut unfolding less than two kilometers away.

“What hurts is the understanding that they are already in this forest here,” says Rem, pointing at a tactical map. “From there they have direct line of sight, even a tank could hit us here.”

Death at close quarters

There are few who can judge the progress of the Battle of Bakhmut better than people like Rem, who watch the brutal firefights from above every day.

“Since we first arrived (in early November), we have lost a fair few positions,” he said. “It's not critical though, all of it can be taken back.”

According to Rem, the Russian soldiers advancing on the city have a clear method to their tactics, going far beyond the image of mindless human wave attacks often popular in social media discourse.

“Yes, of course they are fighting effectively, they are advancing after all,” he said. “I can't count their losses myself, obviously they are taking casualties but there is also a result to show for it.”

On Dec. 4, Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhii Cherevatiy had said that Russian forces were suffering around 50-100 casualties daily in the battles around Bakhmut. Speaking to the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 3, Cherevatiy reported 189 dead in the same area over the last day, with over 200 wounded.

With the offensive on Bakhmut largely the responsibility of the infamous Wagner Group, mobilized regular troops are seen more rarely here.

“I watch how they advance, they are calm and collected,” said Rem, “and maybe some of them even think they are fighting for some kind of beliefs.”

Assault troops of the Skala Battalion return to base after a mission in the outskirts of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on Dec. 29, 2022. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent)

Looking ahead at how the battle will develop over winter, Rem is frank, but far from panicked.

“At the moment, it seems like the forces are pretty evenly matched here, and to conduct a successful offensive, you need a bigger advantage,” he said. “Whichever side can gain that advantage first will be successful.”

This is not to say that the Russian’s won’t have more tactical success in their endless squad-level assaults, Rem warned.

“If things stay more or less the same they will most likely advance bit by bit over the next few winter months, until they reach the Bakhmutka River,” he said.

“If there won't be any radical changes in the quantity of forces, I personally don't think they will make it any further than that.”

At the Skala base, the interview with Contrabass is interrupted by the return of an assault team from a mission to take back a lost position.

The dark corridor is filled with adrenalin, as helmets and rifles are tossed to the side as the men all find their own way to decompress.

“I am no hero here,” says Contrabass, standing quickly to vacate his seat. “You cannot begin to compare my work to what these guys do every day.”

Note from the author:

Hi, this is Francis Farrell, who wrote this piece from on the ground in the middle of Russia's neverending assault on Ukrainian cities in Donetsk Oblast. The Battle of Bakhmut is hell on earth, but it can be difficult to understand what is actually happening on the ground, so we watched it for ourselves. Ukraine achieved stunning victories over autumn, but the way Russia is able to keep up their attack shows that this war is far from over. Please consider supporting our reporting.