Russian drone attacks are reshaping life in Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has settled into a grinding, no-end-in-sight war of attrition. Tens of thousands of drones now swarm the skies, threatening the lives of millions of Ukrainians near the frontline as well as western cities like Kyiv. On the latest episode of GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with Christopher Miller, chief Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times, for a firsthand look at how Russia’s war has transformed life into “hell” for Ukrainian civilians who live in constant fear of drone attacks, long range missiles, and aerial bombs.

Russian drones are now capable of flying nearly 40 or 50 kilometers, putting entire cities near the border within striking distance. Urban warfare in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region has become slow, bloody and devastating for the Ukrainians who still live there. Even far from the trenches, in Kyiv and Lviv, citizens endure nightly aerial raid sirens and attacks, hiding in bomb shelters and metro stations to avoid injury from shrapnel and debris. Miller says that drone warfare means nowhere in Ukraine is safe. From the frontlines to the border of the EU, it’s a war zone.

“I go to bed every night anticipating there to be another air attack,” Miller says, “We don't sleep much and we get up in the morning and we look outside and we see the destruction. That might mean 20 people killed on one day. It can mean 40 people injured the next.”