Slovyansk has been transformed into a dangerous, crumbling front line, serving as a critical piece of Ukraine’s so-called “fortress belt.” This network of heavily reinforced defensive positions in the Donetsk region is now the target of relentless Russian aerial attacks involving glide bombs, missiles, and remotely operated first-person view (FPV) drones. As the conflict grinds on, the city—once home to over 200,000 residents—has seen its population plummet, with less than 10% of its people remaining. The dangers in Slovyansk are clear from the start. Nor, she says, is there anywhere else in Ukraine she would consider truly safe.
Among those holding the line is a specialized National Guard drone unit that calls itself the Peaky Blinders, a name inspired by the popular television series. Although theirs are camouflaged, they are members of a drone unit who call themselves Peaky Blinders and their distinctive emblem is a flat cap of the type made popular by the cult TV series. The anti-drone netting that covers the roads is no guarantee of safety. In north-eastern Ukraine, we first met the Omega National Guard Special Forces drone unit two years ago fighting in the Kharkiv region.
The team, which includes a 21-year-old operator named Tetiana and her colleague Yasha, works under constant threat. Tetiana, who once aspired to be an opera singer, now scours her phone for military intelligence on incoming air threats. Their commander, Oleksandr, describes the unit as a family, noting that despite the grim reality, they share nightly meals, often accompanied by classical music to mask the sounds of nearby explosions. If I say run, you run,” Tetiana tells us. In halting English, Tetiana tells us walking is safer than travelling by car. Tetiana shows us a video on her phone taken a few days earlier. And then the cacophony of small arms fire as Ukrainian forces try to shoot them down, you can hear several drones buzzing above her. Abandoning her dreams of becoming an opera singer, tetiana admits it can be scary but explains how she felt compelled to help her country.
The situation for the unit is dire. Oleksandr, who lost his brother to the war, admits that this is the most difficult phase they have ever faced. He emphasizes that the saturation of drones from both sides has effectively stalled any major maneuvers, making the front nearly impassable for either force. While peace talks have resumed between Ukraine, Russia, and the US in Abu Dhabi, Oleksandr remains skeptical, stating that he does not believe these negotiations will succeed in ending the violence. Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to cede the territory, the White House is sounding positive about the revived talks in Abu Dhabi.
The city’s infrastructure has been decimated.
Recent Russian strikes have destroyed schools and residential blocks, leaving streets littered with broken glass and abandoned, burned-out vehicles. Across the road there is a gaping hole in an abandoned residential block.
Tetiana notes that this destruction is a deliberate strategy meant to sow chaos and force remaining civilians to flee in terror. That, she says, “is their strategy â to make people leave in chaos, gathering up their last belongings and fleeing amid enormous fear and suffering. And I don’t have the money to leave or support myself afterwards, i simply have nowhere to go.
Despite the danger, some residents cling to what remains of their lives.
Iryna, who works in one of the city’s few functioning coffee shops, insists she will not leave, despite losing her home.
Similarly, 53-year-old Inga stays only because she lacks the funds to relocate and fears the uncertainty of life elsewhere. Inga, 53, was also born and raised here and continues to work in the city despite the danger.
The broader military context remains grim. According to Ukraine’s general staff, October was the deadliest month for Russian troops since the full-scale invasion began, with over 54,000 soldiers reported killed or injured. Although Russia has occupied nearly 90% of the Donbas, its progress this year has faltered against determined Ukrainian resistance. Kyiv continues to reject pressure to relinquish the fortress cities, fearing that such a retreat would provide Russia with a pathway to advance further west toward the capital. Including to the capital Kyiv, ukrainians worry that doing so would make it much easier for Russia to advance further west. It is a familiar pattern already seen in other Ukrainian towns and cities in the Donbas â like Pokrovsk and Bakhmut. Or they have been wounded or killed, just four of the original team remain – the rest have moved to other units.
Inside the city, the atmosphere is suffocating. Yasha carries a shotgun as a final defensive measure against low-flying drones, and military escorts avoid using vehicles, preferring to navigate on foot under the cover of trees to minimize visibility. As the war of attrition continues, the divide between the hope of diplomacy in Abu Dhabi and the cold reality on the ground in Slovyansk grows wider, leaving soldiers and civilians alike trapped in an unending cycle of bombardment and endurance. And our military escorts call this “good” weather, meaning it is bad for drones, it is raining and cloudy as we enter the city. Very little of the city has been left unscathed by months of heavy bombardment.
