On the Swing, Under the Drones
By:Giorgio Provinciali
Live from Ukraine ????????
Prybuzke Already eroded by four years of war, the municipal administration buildings of this small settlement south of Mykolaiv continue to be selectively targeted by the Russian Federation, which bombards them also during the day with artillery, long-range drones, and FPVs. The local school and the few facilities that remain (more or less) standing have barred doors and plywood panes instead of glass. Wandering through devastated gardens and streets scarred by various types of fire, we encountered a singlecivilian, who was moving with the aid of a walker on which he had installed a small radio playing Ukrainian folk songs.
Despite his difficulty walking, the man moved with such calmness that we thought he had purposely turned up the volume of the radio to drown out the thunder of the bombs and the bursts of anti-aircraft fire.
There was not a soul around us, and even crows were flying away from the fiery horizon.
Just as we approached to say hello, a long-range drone flew over Prybuzke at such a low altitude that it rattled the roof of our car. Nonchalantly, he responded with a smile, paying more attention to us than to the drone.
If we wrote that we sought shelter among the ruins, we would be doing the job of intermittent reporters. We continued just far enough to leave no trace for balloons and spy drones. Until another, more cheerful tune caught our attention: carried by the wind, it was easy to follow and led us to the back of the local kindergarten.
In a square torn apart by detonations, two little girls were playing on a swing while the theme songs of Ukrainian cartoons rang out from the speaker of a nearby smartphone. That creaking carousel was the only piece of equipment that had retained its original shape as far as our eyes could see.The Russian bombs had stripped away every human work, including the childrens drawings on the walls. More drones crossed the sky in the opposite direction to the previous one, just as we were recording somefootageweve made available on this La Ragiones YouTubechannel.
They were ours. They were part of a tally that,for the first time since the start of the war, could see Ukraine surpass Russia in the number of drone strikes.
Accordingto the Russian Ministry of Defense, there were 7,347 in March, based solely on those shot down: 237 per day.Accordingto data released by the Ukrainian Air Force, 6,462 enemy drones were destroyed in the same month:more than Moscow has ever launched in that period. These figures, despite coming from opposing and inconsistent sources, confirmthe shift in the balance of power in Ukraines favor, which wewroteabout yesterday.
Seen from the field, this countrys long-term efforts are therefore starting to bear fruit.
What we observed in Prybuzke also confirms another piece of good news: the approach of the new Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov (formerly Minister of Technological Innovations), has enabledthe immediate modernization of the Ukrainian air force.
Many helicopters and aircraft have already been upgraded with communications, navigation, and target detection systems, and others accordingto his ministry will be rapidly adapted to the needs of modern warfare.
Settlements like the one we are writing from live under the constant threat not only of relatively small, precision-guided strikes but also of KABs, Russian free-fall bombs converted into glide-guided aerial bombs thanks to extendable surfaces and the UMPK autonomous navigation module. Knowing thatUkraine is equipping itself with the tools needed to ward off death from the air from Russiais a significant boost of confidence.
It comes as Fire Point, the manufacturer of the fearsome Ukrainian Flamingo missiles,announcedthe development of a new air defense system that according to the companys own data aims to becomeUkraines alternative to the Patriotby the end of 2027.Havingenteredthe final stages of production of two ballistic missiles (FP-7 and FP-9), Fire Pointaimsto reduce the cost of intercepting a similar enemy threat to less than a million dollars: up to one-twentieth less than the increasingly difficult-to-find American system.
The contrast between the resilience of the human factor of those remaining in villages like Prybuzke and the ballistic evolution of the conflict is clearly felt here.
In these places, war doesnt break out only when the infantry advances.
People respond by turning up the music to mask the existence of a constant threat hovering in a sky that has become a perpetual assembly line of death.
Knowing that Ukraine is optimizing the cost-effectiveness of that kill chain indicates a success that isnt measured solely by the scalability of decentralized industrial production of drones and medium- to long-range ballistic systems. It representsa significant reversal in the drone war,instilling a certain cautious optimism at a time whenMoscow is increasing the psychological and material pressure on civilians with attacks so relentless theyre disrupting even their circadian rhythms.
In 1.500 days of war,we recorded over 250 videos from ground zero and wrote more than 1,500 articles.
We are doing our best to provide genuine, first-hand reports from zones where almost no press dares to go. This means living in a kill zone constantly. We take the risk, but without your invaluable support, our voices would remain unheard and silent. Without brave people sharing our articles from afar, they would remain unread. Our reports would go unseen, and our efforts would be lost. Theres still a lot of work to do here, as the people around us are also in no better situation.
Were renewing ourfundraising campaignand thanking everyone who joins us in helping to restore what Russia is destroying. Moving forward with only a small reimbursement for each article from a brave newspaper that believes in us is extremely challenging. Thats why we are grateful to all the kind people who support us and trust in our mission.
Even a small donation helps.
Well keep you updated on developments.
Thank you all, dear friends ????????
在秋千上，在無人機下
作者：Giorgio Provinciali
翻譯：旺財球球
烏克蘭前線報道????????
普裏布茲克這座位於尼古拉耶夫南部的小鎮，其已被四年戰爭侵蝕的千瘡百孔的市政辦公樓，仍持續遭到俄羅斯聯邦的定點轟炸。縱使白天也遭受俄軍炮火、遠程無人機和FPV的襲擊。當地尚能勉強屹立的學校和為數不多的設施都以膠合板釘住門窗，玻璃早已不複存在。走過被各種火力炸毀的花園和街道，我們隻遇見一位平民，他靠助行器緩步而行，助行器上放著一台播放烏克蘭民歌的小收音機。
（圖：我與Alla在烏克蘭普裏布茲克報道????????版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
盡管行走不便，這名男子卻走得異常平靜，我們甚至以為他是故意把收音機開大聲，借此掩蓋炸彈的轟鳴與防空火力的爆裂聲。
周圍一個人影都沒有，連烏鴉都飛離了那燃燒的地平線。
正當我們上前打招呼時，一架遠程無人機以極低的高度掠過普裏布茲克，震動了我們的車頂。那名男子若無其事地向我們微笑，更在意我們而非無人機。
若說我們在廢墟中躲避，那就淪為間歇性記者了。我們繼續前行，遠到監視氣球與偵察機捕捉不到我們的痕跡。直到另一段更歡快的旋律引起我們的注意：隨風傳來，容易追尋，最終將我們帶到當地幼兒園後方。
（圖：我與Alla在烏克蘭普裏布茲克報道????????版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
在一處被炸裂的廣場上，兩個小女孩在秋千上玩耍，附近智能手機的揚聲器裏正放著烏克蘭動畫片的主題曲。那座吱嘎作響的旋轉木馬是我們所見範圍內唯一仍保留原狀的遊樂設施。俄軍的炸彈摧毀了所有人類的勞動成果，甚至包括牆上的兒童畫。就在我們為本報《La Ragione》的YouTube頻道錄製影像時，更多無人機從相反的方向掠空而過。
那些無人機是我們的。它們構成的統計顯示，在戰爭爆發以來首次顯示出烏克蘭在無人機出擊次數上或已超過俄羅斯。
俄國防部僅以被擊落數量計算稱，三月有7,347架：平均每日237架。烏克蘭空軍公布的數據則顯示，同月摧毀了6,462架敵機：超過莫斯科在該時期所發射的數量。盡管這些數據來自相互對立且並非完全一致的來源，但仍證實了權力天平向烏克蘭傾斜的轉變，正如我們昨日所寫。
（TopLeadEU的每周摘要圖片來源：TopLeadEU）
從前線看，這個國家長期付出的努力開始顯現成果。
我們在普裏布茲克所見也證實另一條好消息：新任國防部長米哈伊洛費多羅夫（原科技創新部長）的上任，使得烏克蘭空軍得以立即推進現代化。
據其部門稱，許多直升機和飛機已升級通信、導航及目標探測係統，其他機型也將在短期內迅速適應現代戰爭的需求。
像我們所處的這些的聚居區，不僅麵臨相對小型的精確製導打擊的持續威脅，還有KAB等武器俄方通過伸展翼麵與UMP K自主導航模塊將自由落體炸彈改裝為滑翔製導炸彈。得知烏克蘭正裝備足以抵禦來自俄羅斯的空中致命打擊，令人頗感振奮。
（視頻：我接受《倫敦時報》前線欄目記者艾米凱洛格的采訪版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
同時，烏克蘭令人畏懼的火烈鳥導彈的製作公司，Fire Point，宣布開發一種新防空係統，據其數據，該係統計劃在2027年底前成為烏克蘭版愛國者替代方案。Fire Point已進入兩型彈道導彈（FP-7與FP-9）生產的最後階段，目標是將攔截類似威脅的成本降至不到一百萬美元：是日益難覓的美製係統的二十分之一。
（圖：Alla與我在烏克蘭普裏布茲克市中心報道????????版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
在普裏布茲克這樣的村莊，村落中幸存者的堅韌與戰爭的彈道升級之間的反差，在此體現的淋漓盡致。
在這些地方，戰爭並非僅在步兵推進時爆發。
人們通過把音樂開大聲來回應威脅，讓音樂掩蓋一個在天空中永不停歇的死亡流水線。
烏克蘭正在優化這條殺戮鏈的性價比，這一成就不僅體現在無人機及中遠程彈道係統分散化工業生產的可擴展性上，也代表了在無人機戰爭中的重大逆轉，在莫斯科不斷以密集轟炸製造心理與物質壓力、甚至擾亂平民晝夜節律的當下，這種逆轉帶來一絲謹慎的樂觀。
（圖：Alla與我在烏克蘭普裏布茲克錄製的影像版權所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
***
在1500天的戰爭中，我們從前線錄製了250多段視頻，並撰寫了1500多篇文章。
我們盡最大努力從幾乎沒有媒體敢進入的地帶進行真實的一手報道，這意味著我們長期生活在殺傷區。我們承擔風險，但若沒有你們寶貴的支持，我們的聲音將無從傳出。若沒有遠方的勇敢的人們轉發分享我們的文章，它們將無人問津。我們的報道會被忽視，我們的努力將付諸流水。這裏還有大量工作要做，周圍的人們境況同樣艱難。
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