Notes on war, investigations, technology and drones...

Some years ago, as the result of an investigation into widespread money laundering, Yours Truly was threatened repeatedly, eventually attacked physically and in the meantime say his (rented) apartment destroyed.

And as if that were not enough of a headache (trust me, the word rented was key), this was followed by harassment in court and a series of moves by local prosecutors that were... somewhat beyond illogical. We'll leave it at that.

That kind of thing does work on you--especially when it is directed exactly a your physical person and not simply at your company or organization, etc. In short, you have trouble sleeping. You worry. You take out frustrations on others (undeserving of said anger or nerves), you pay out of your wallet, and eventually even your health starts to go.

This is why I have tremendous sympathy for investigative journalists. In fact, back when I was cooperating with Rzeczpospolita and other Polish magazines and newspapers I was complaining to a few other journalists over beers about said woes. At the time I had four ongoing lawsuits and a potential criminal libel investigation on my back. I was also in the process of being sucked into a parliamentary investigation as a witness, and soon after I was questioned with regard to being an alleged member of a the mythical Krakowskie Przemiescie organized crime group (which must have absolutely befuddled actual members of that group--if it ever in fact existed at all).

At any rate, these were difficult times--or at least they seemed so to me. But once I finished my moaning and went back to sipping a beer  other journalists present broke out in laughter. For not a single journo at that table (apart from me) had less than 12 ongoing civil suits.

That's right. Twelve.

So yes, difficult times (even if mine were a sight less difficult than those of my compadres). But we were fighting the good fight, were all undefeated (and in fact all remained so), and--if we were honest ourselves--we thought we were quite brave. And until very recently when I looked back at those times I thought myself brave as well. Yet now, bearing in mind the stories of those who have survived the war next door,  I think of those times as no more than bravery-lite, if that--as this was point which was brought home to me quite recently while speaking with an Ukrainian fighter who has been on various front lines for no less than two years.

As background, this is a soldier who is very familiar with both Kursk and Pokrovsk. As still further background, he's done his share of legitimate front line fighting, and out of some 100 soldiers with whom he has fought side-by-side, only three others are still in one piece and still in the fight.

Out of respect for his extreme modesty (and in an effort not to incidentally identify him), here are a few snapshots of what that conversation revealed:

1) Six months ago he noted that drones did indeed gain coverage "following" soldiers, and at this time shotguns were used for last-ditch self defense. Now... they loiter and then they diver on soldiers and groups of soldiers in seconds. They are also extremely powerful--and they are all but omni-present. [Ed. note--it appears that it is no exaggeration that some 10,000 Russian drones are in the sky above Ukraine, watching and waiting at any given moment.]  And the technology continues to advance. From one day to another, you have no idea whether jammers will work; whether there will be a new innovation that allows yet some other form of unseen or even more immediate strike.

2) And here it is important to state that he has been hit... multiple times, with this including on one occassion a shell or drone that took out almost everyone his unit.

3) Likewise, he has been close to glide bomb strikes in the past, and he has also noted that while not particularly accurate, they absolutely obliterate positions and leave even the soldiers only somewhat nearby concussed and unable to function, with said effects sometimes only revealing themselves after a few days.

4) Finally, he has mentioned (in passing) the pain of rehab (and of returning to the front after hurried treatment), and that the hellscape on the ground is all but unimaginable.

He also believes 100 percent that Ukraine will win.

For it may not seem obvious, but Russia is running out of men. And while logistics are being disrupted, it will fail to take both Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka--and this failure will mean that Russian President Vladimir Putin's days are numbered.

He is absolutely sure of this, and perhaps it is this belief that makes its greatest impression. Back during my days of bravery-lite, I can't say that I was so confident. In fact, I will freely admit that I let circumstance and trials (literally) bring me down in a fashion that now makes me ashamed. But when it comes to the soldier in question, this is simply not the case. He is sharp, funny, upbeat--and he is an optimist

What is even more remarkable is that he is one of the few who has a legitimate out in this war. He could, by all rights, declare he has put in his time (and shed his blood) and be granted the equivalent of permanent leave. He would not be forced to fight, and he would certainly not be seen in a bad light.

But instead, shortly after I spoke with him, he returned directly to the front.

Because...

Again...

He believes 100 percent that Ukraine will win.

And I ask you: how do you defeat such men? And if you do defeat them on the battlefield, can you really imagine that they will ever truly be subjugated? That they will never again fight to be free?

Putin may still fail to understand it, but this war--this attempt to commit genocide--is in vain. And Pokrovsk or no Pokrovsk, it now promises to be his undoing.

Slava Ukrainii and God bless.

Preston Smith is a licensed investigator based in Gdansk, Poland. He can be reached at query@cddi.pl.

Photo credit: Disposal of a FAB in Toretsk, courtesy of Dsns.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.