Roughly 80% of the drone-dropped munitions the Taifun special purpose unit uses to eliminate occupying forces are homemade, crafted in their own laboratory. The soldiers explained to Frontliner reporters exactly what can be made from these materials.
A childhood curiosity about her veteran uncle’s silence grew into a professional mission to reveal the true cost of war, even when that understanding becomes hard to bear. Frontliner reporter Alina Yevych explores what drove her to witness the war firsthand.
In Kostiantynivka, Russians are conducting a safari on civilians, with drones hovering over houses and basements for days, waiting for someone to step outside. This Frontliner report explores why they remain in such a lethal zone.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are aging rapidly. Older soldiers joke that they will hold each position more fiercely than the younger troops. Servicemembers shared their thoughts about it with Frontliner.
Half of all cases of AWOL and desertion occurred in the first nine months of 2025. Through the stories of individual servicemembers, Frontliner examines what drives battle-hardened, respected soldiers to go AWOL.
At night, Yuliia Yatlova runs down the stairs from her ninth-floor apartment, carrying her 3-year-old son. She tells Frontliner why she no longer feels safe at home, how difficult it is to find a daycare in a city under fire, and why putting on makeup has become part of her daily routine.
The situation in the Oleksandrivka direction has been steadily worsening in recent weeks. Russian forces are pressing forward with infantry assaults, attempting to break through Ukrainian positions using motorcycles and light armored vehicles, while covering their advance with attack drones from above.
The sky over Kostiantynivka is swarming with FPV drones, hovering before striking vehicles. The anti-tank warheads attached to them pierce straight through armored cars, while ordinary ones are shredded to pieces.
Russian occupiers have been attacking Pokrovsk for over a year – since the summer of 2024, when they launched a major offensive in this direction. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the city’s population has fallen from over 60,000 to barely a thousand (according to the latest data from the Donetsk Regional Administration).
They consider themselves lucky – those who are living out their days with care and under a roof. Across Ukraine, shelters for people with disabilities and pensioners are overflowing. With each year of war, the situation worsens.
