38-year-old Dmytro, an unmanned aerial vehicle operator of the 128th separate heavy mechanized brigade «Wild Field», has been at the front since 2024. Before his service, he worked as an IT specialist and bartender.
38-year-old Dmytro, an unmanned aerial vehicle operator of the 128th separate heavy mechanized brigade «Wild Field», has been at the front since 2024. Before his service, he worked as an IT specialist and bartender.
He told Suspilny about his journey in the army, his first combat missions, and his work with drones.
Dmytro says that he joined the Defense Forces voluntarily, but the decision was not impulsive — he thought for a long time about how he could be useful.
«The idea was that it would be just heroic to go and say: give me the machines, I’ll handle everything here now — I understood that this was not very adequate, not very conscious. And for some time I walked around and thought about how exactly I could be useful. I realized that I would like to work in unmanned systems, because I have a thirst for engineering,» he said.
The soldier remembers his first combat mission in great detail — as one of the most emotional moments of his service. «I was so adrenaline-charged that the 'armor' on me twitched a little. And, as I remember now, we were standing under an acacia tree, and there were a lot of insects on it. And they don’t care whether you are a tree or not. At some point, those insects started flying at us. I remember, I’m standing, my whole head is covered in these insects, they get under my glasses… I can barely hold on to that side anyway, because this is my first combat mission,» said Dmytro.
According to him, the mission could not be completed then due to the actions of Russian electronic warfare.
Dmitry notes that when the unit arrived at its destination, the conditions were very difficult — due to the active offensive of Russian troops and the unpreparedness of some equipment for such conditions. «In most cases, we hit enemy infantry. There were such exits that we did not have time to sleep at all. I had to reconfigure the drones, because I was the one who understood the engineering part more from our crew. When the planes arrived, they were not designed for these combat conditions, and we had to reconfigure them right at the moment of combat missions,» he explained.
According to the military, each drone operator has their own role and technical specialization, which directly affects the result.
Dmytro emphasizes that modern warfare is not only about tactics, but also about technology, where both sides have strong specialists. «The enemy should not be underestimated either. They also have very strong and productive specialists who need to be given time,» he noted.
The soldier also recalled one of the combat episodes when, while operating the drone, he saw a wounded Russian soldier hiding in the landing. «The guys stopped some of the enemy there, hit them. And one of them was still alive, but he was 'three hundredth' and hid. I was flying past, saw that the enemy was lying under a bush in the landing. I turn the side, start moving in his direction. And, in fact, the speed of my drone was so slow, you could just turn that gun and try to hit me. But when he saw that the drone was approaching, he just shot himself in the head,» Dmitry said.
Despite the difficulties and exhaustion, the soldier says that his main motivation is the defense of the country and a sense of common cause. «This is our land. We can live a normal life… I am very motivated by the fact that there are many tough guys and girls who risk their health, and sometimes their lives, so that we can live in a country free and clean from the enemy. We must be united and do this work to the end,» he concluded.
