Could you do this? Could I? Even if the troops were firing into the air?
Radio Free Europe has additional footage from another angle:
Residents of Melitopol, a city in southern Ukraine, gathered to protest the arrival of Russian troops on March 2 as Moscow continues its military invasion for the seventh day. Shots can be heard in the background of an amateur video shot by a protester who says, “They are trying to intimidate us.” The shots appear to be fired into the air by Russian forces in an attempt to disperse the protest, while demonstrators remain defiant.
Even given the videos above, the following tale from journalist and reporter at The Kyiv Independent, Liubov Tsybulska, is unconfirmed and may be pro-Ukraine propaganda, but it’s a good one. The only other reportage on it comes from British tabloids:
The Ukrainian military is recruiting an army of hobby drone operators for spotting Russian troops and vehicles, says Denys Sushko who heads a Kyiv-based drone technology company (ABC News):
“We try to use absolutely everything that can help protect our country and drones are a great tool for getting real-time data,” said Sushko, who doesn’t have a drone with him but is providing expertise. “Now in Ukraine no one remains indifferent. Everyone does what they can.”
Unlike the much larger Turkish-built combat drones that Ukraine has in its arsenal, off-the-shelf consumer drones aren’t much use as weapons — but they can be powerful reconnaissance tools. Civilians have been using the aerial cameras to track Russian convoys and then relay the images and GPS coordinates to Ukrainian troops. Some of the machines have night vision and heat sensors.
But there’s a downside: DJI, the leading provider of consumer drones in Ukraine and around the world, provides a tool that can easily pinpoint the location of an inexperienced drone operator, and no one really knows what the Chinese firm or its customers might do with that data. That makes some volunteers uneasy. DJI declined to discuss specifics about how it has responded to the war.
It is a risk these operators are willing to take.
Tsybulska offers additional stories of bravery among Ukrainian civilians in the face of occupation and concludes (The New York Times):
After over a week of war, the Kremlin’s aim appears to be to encircle and capture major cities, heedless of the death and destruction Russian forces leave in their wake. Already, the toll is heavy: In the first week of conflict, according to the United Nations, 227 civilians were killed and 525 were wounded. The Russian Army, loaded up with artillery, is going to continue its brutal bombardment of the country. For Ukrainians, in flight, fight or shelter, there will be no respite.
But we are defiant. With every act of bravery and courage, Ukrainians show that we are ready to pay the highest price for democracy — ours and the world over. In this battle, we will not surrender and we will not capitulate. Because our freedom is immutable.
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