Terrifying moment Sun reporter chased & ‘eliminated’ by Ukraine drone flown by pilot who’s lost count of Russians killed

RUNNING for my beingness arsenic I scanned the windswept slate-grey skies implicit Ukraine’s beforehand line, I made 1 hopeless past dash for cover.

Panting arsenic I plunged into the prickly hedgerow, I laic wholly inactive and listened successful dread for the fateful sound.

Moments aboriginal it came — the spine- chilling banshee whine which has heralded the doom of thousands of soldiers successful these sidesplitting fields.

But the screeching kamikaze drone hovering inches from my look would not beryllium adding my sanction to the toll of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians killed successful Vladimir Putin’s war.

Because I was the quarry successful a simulated drone hunt staged for The Sun yesterday by Ukraine’s elite front-line 68 Jaeger Brigade.

And though it wasn’t for real, it was inactive a profoundly unnerving ­experience.

I learned soon aft that I had been hunted down by a drone aviator who has killed scores of Russians successful the “meat grinder” war a fewer miles to the east.

Tall, geeky and with a wispy ­ginger beard, the 29-year-old aviator — dubbed The Moderator — told maine helium was fixed the subject telephone motion due to the fact that of his occupation earlier the war.

He said: “I utilized to enactment moderating comments near by radical connected websites to marque definite thing violative went online.

“Now I mean Russians.”

The Moderator — who The Sun agreed not to place afloat — said helium had mislaid number of the fig of Putin soldiers his drones had ­dispatched successful caller months.

This improbable and softly spoken warrior kills by expertly moving 2 joysticks connected a gaudy, bubblegum-pink distant controller.

“I conscionable similar the colour pink,” helium said successful halting English, smiling.

“I don’t cognize however galore Russians I’ve killed — it’s little than 100 but much than 50 oregon 60.

“I spot them moving oregon hiding done my drone’s camera but effort to spot them lone arsenic targets. I’m not blessed but I’m not bittersweet erstwhile I termination them — I’m conscionable doing my job.

“They marque their ain occupation due to the fact that they would travel to my location to harm maine and my family.”

The Moderator said helium had ne'er flown a drone earlier helium joined the portion — but enjoyed utilizing a controller to play racing games connected his ­computer astatine home.

He added: “It’s similar a video crippled wherever we are utilizing our joysticks to look for terrorists.

“When Russian soldiers are attacking us, we consciousness threatened. They are trying to termination america with their drones truthful it’s a existent fight, it’s real life.

“On each ngo I’m leaving 1 little overseas idiosyncratic who would bash atrocious things to my ­family and my country.

“We enactment successful changeless ­danger due to the fact that they person long-range weapons, artillery and tanks, and we consciousness it each day. They are hunting america similar we hunt them.”

The Jaeger Brigade’s 100-strong drone unit’s termination complaint is astonishing, fixed that it lone went operational connected the Ukraine beforehand enactment successful April past year, astir the threatened metropolis of Petrovske.

In conscionable 10 months the elite squad — with pilots aged up to 50 but made up chiefly of nerdy young gamers — has recorded the “confirmed kills” of astatine slightest 8,000 Russian soldiers.

And it is 1 of astir 250 akin progressive Ukrainian drone units attached to brigades delivering ­carnage on the full 600-mile beforehand enactment successful the eastbound of the country.

Increasingly blase drones, peculiarly First Person View (FPV) quadcopters beaming unrecorded pictures to pilots, present relationship for much Ukraine casualties than immoderate different weapon.

Both Ukraine and Russia are locked successful a hopeless contention to make ever much deadly UAVs, oregon Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

And Ukraine appears to beryllium winning this conflict of a analyzable hybrid warfare by mass-producing inexpensive sidesplitting machines based connected hobby store ’copters disposable online.

Weaponised drone toys are steered into conflict remotely by pilots peering done goggles which task real-time video from a front-facing ­camera attached to the flying bomb.

‘Blast capable to bring down a tiny house’

The termination drones tin outgo arsenic ­little arsenic £320 to build, but are present regularly destroying conflict tanks costing millions.

Ukraine’s 70mph FPVs, with a scope of astir 12 to 13 miles, are being churned retired cheaply by the thousand, by 3D printers successful underground munition plants crossed the embattled nation.

Attempts to jam the radio signals which nonstop them person been thwarted by caller models, controlled by miles of super-fine fibre-optic cablegram linked to the pilot’s controller.

FPVs are usually equipped with 1.5kg of precocious explosive, which tin beryllium ­detonated connected interaction with a ­target oregon detonate nearby.

The blast is capable to bring down a tiny house, and drones are often flown wrong buildings to hunt the terrified force from country to room.

FPVs person besides proved Ukraine’s astir effectual anti-tank weapon, trumping £200,000 US Javelin ­shoulder-launched missiles and £32,000 British NLAWs, oregon next-gen airy anti-tank weapons.

Drone controllers person the vantage of being capable to hover implicit tanks, looking for anemic spots successful their armour, oregon alert successful done unfastened hatches with devastating results.

Soldiers hazard their lives to motorboat the drones arsenic adjacent to the beforehand enactment arsenic imaginable to maximise the onslaught range, but pilots flying them tin beryllium overmuch farther away.

Missions are often supported by winged- surveillance UAVs which loiter for overmuch longer implicit the beforehand enactment to prime retired targets and grounds video of attacks to corroborate kills.

Ukraine besides uses acold bigger ­Vampire drones with larger bombs oregon 15kg rocket warheads that tin destruct fortified bunkers.

Other ample UAVs person been developed to ferry ammunition to front-line units and adjacent bring backmost wounded soldiers connected stretchers.

But the drone troops we spoke to yesterday stressed that though their enactment is present pivotal, they tin lone execute battlefield occurrence backed by infantry soldiers and accepted weapons.

And Ukrainian soldiers are presently inactive losing crushed each time connected the eastbound beforehand arsenic Putin orders his overmuch larger unit to advance.

In 2023, Ukraine’s President Zelensky pledged to physique a cardinal FPVs wrong a year, and the erstwhile Joe Biden medication successful the US pumped £1.2billion into Ukraine’s drone development.

Huge hi-tech concern by some sides has changed the look of ­front- enactment combat successful caller months.

Any worker daring to interruption screen wrong 12 to 13 miles either broadside of beforehand enactment trenches present risks a ­terrifying decease by drone.

Grisly videos are regularly posted online showing drone footage of doomed soldiers cowering successful panic.

And it looks apt that beforehand lines volition soon lucifer science fiction-turned-fact arsenic AI technology creates flying weapons which volition patrol termination zones autonomously.

The commandant of 68 Brigade’s drone portion — telephone motion “Lutiy” — invited america to effort the drone ­simulator linked to his laptop wrong his bunker yesterday.

It was tricky, owing to my full deficiency of gaming experience, but looked casual erstwhile helium took power and steered the limb consecutive into the representation of a subject truck.

Stern-faced Lutiy, a 30-year-old dada of one, past showed america graphic footage showing the past moments of dozens of force troops.

Harrowing images included 1 series successful which an onslaught connected a vessel near its horrifically injured unit writhing successful agony and connected fire.

Moments later, Lutiy smiled and showed disconnected a crayoned representation his four-year-old lad had sent him.

Lutiy — whose sanction means “Angry” successful Ukrainian — told The Sun: “We don’t privation to beryllium here, we would alternatively beryllium location with our families and don’t instrumentality immoderate pleasance from the horrible things we spot connected our screens. But we volition combat connected for arsenic agelong arsenic we person to.

“In little than 1 twelvemonth my portion has killed 8,000 Russians and destroyed 200 of their vehicles — but we can’t triumph this warfare conscionable with drones.

“People successful Europe spot these ­videos of Russians being blown up and don’t look to realise we are warring for them arsenic good arsenic ourselves to clasp backmost the Russians.

“Ukraine needs much support.”