Russia turned our hometowns into hunting grounds

Ally and Sasha are two reporters united by the same fear: Their families in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia have become potential targets for FPV drones in the enemy’s twisted ʼhuman safari.ʼ

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Ukraine targets another major Russian retailer… Russia strikes a shopping mall, injuring 100 people… Around 80 Ukrainian troops deserted while on training in Germany…

Editor’s note:

We found it extremely difficult to create this joint reporter’s notebook because it hits so close to home — literally.

We didn’t choose to leave our childhood spaces or favorite streets behind, nor did we choose to be cut off from our families. However, Russia has made it impossible for us to keep our childhood roots. That’s why we’ve documented everything that the world needs to see here.

Support our team so that these stories are heard loud and clear and cannot be drowned out by propaganda.

OUR LEAD STORY:

KYIV, Ukraine – The last time I walked through the streets in Kharkiv was in 2025. I was visiting my hometown to introduce my daughter, who was 5 at the time, to relatives she had never met and is now unlikely to ever see again. The city has become exponentially more dangerous due to a new threat that had previously been limited to the frontline — FPV drones.

Oleksandra Poda, who goes by Ally for short, in Kharkiv’s biggest amusement park, which once used to be full of people. November, 2025.

FPV drones are cheap, so Russia can launch them by the dozen as a constant presence in the sky. And because a human operator flies each one in real time, it can follow a moving target, turning an ordinary drive or walk into something closer to being hunted.

After the paywall:

• Why FPV drones are more terrifying than missiles or Shaheds;

• Why going home has become impossible;

• The terrifying message Sasha received from her family;

• What an FPV drone sounds like.