Frontline Ukrainians: ‘We need drones and freedom’

In his latest report from the frontlines, Ukrainian-American journalist David Kirichenko shares his efforts to deliver crucial supplies, including high-tech surveillance drones, to Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He bears witness to the emotional toll inflicted on these troops after more than two years of war and reflects on how freedom for Ukraine remains the ultimate goal for those still fighting. This is the first of two parts.

In March 2024, I returned to Ukraine, purchasing and delivering drones to soldiers on the frontlines and reporting on drone warfare. Unlike the late summer of 2023, when I still felt a sense of optimism from people amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive, I now saw the great pain and sorrow among many Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline.

Even if Ukraine were to prevail on the battlefield, would it be a true victory if the greatest Ukrainians who died fighting for a free Ukraine were no longer there to see it?

Many soldiers often spoke of the need to continue the fight to avenge their fallen brothers. Ukraine’s future liberation will have been paid with the greatest price: the blood of some of the bravest human beings I have ever met in my life.

Ever since the Western media hype surrounding Ukraine’s counteroffensive subsided after the summer of 2023, followed by US aid to Ukraine being stalled in Congress and then the fall of Avdiivka, I have personally seen interest wane from both the American public and the Ukrainian diaspora in the US.

Chatter about Ukraine on different volunteer channels to which I belong is getting rarer by the day. This is likely because the most committed volunteers work directly with units now, while others have simply lost interest.

When times are