Ukraine's killer dune buggies

Ukraine's Killer Dune Buggies | GZERO World

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, metalworker Volodymyr Sadyk specialized in making gates at his shop in western Ukraine, near the Romanian border. But in his spare time, he and his friends also built and raced dune buggies.

When the war began, Volodymyr had an idea — he offered some of the buggies to the Ukrainian army, which was looking for ways to even the playing field against a much larger enemy. The response from Kyiv was immediate: send us more.

Today, Volodymyr and his crew of 7 men have made close to 60 custom buggies for the Ukrainian army. Light, rugged, and agile, the Mad Max-style vehicles are perfect for sniffing out Russian positions, swarming Russian columns with anti-tank fire, or evacuating wounded soldiers.

In December, GZERO World had a chance to visit his workshop to check out the buggies and learn more about Volodymyr’s work.

More from GZERO Media

Palestinian children look at rubble following Israeli forces' withdrawal from the area, after Israel and Hamas agreed on the Gaza ceasefire, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 10, 2025.
REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Israel approved the Gaza ceasefire deal on Friday morning, bringing the ceasefire officially into effect. The Israeli military must withdraw its forces to an agreed perimeter inside Gaza within 24 hours, and Hamas has 72 hours to return the hostages.

- YouTube

French President Emmanuel Macron is scrambling to pull France out of a deepening political free fall that’s already toppled five prime ministers in two years. Tomorrow he’ll try again—and this time, says Eurasia Group’s Mujtaba Rahman, the fifth pick might finally stick.

In these photos, emergency units carry out rescue work after a Russian attack in Ternopil and Prikarpattia oblasts on December 13, 2024. A large-scale Russian missile attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure left half of the consumers in the Ternopil region without electricity, the Ternopil Regional State Administration reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017.
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

China has implemented broad new restrictions on exports of rare earth and other critical minerals vital for semiconductors, the auto industry, and military technology, of which it controls 70% of the global supply.