# ‘This is where democracy beats totalitarianism’: Ukraine’s drone force takes the fight to Russia

https://mins.news/en/item/11934

- The Guardian, 2026-08-02 05:00 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/aug/02/this-is-where-democracy-beats-totalitarianism-ukraines-drone-strike-force-takes-the-fight-to-russia

> At a Ukrainian launch site in the countryside, members of the elite Magyar’s Birds brigade are using Russia’s vast size against it. As evening fell over a field of sunflowers, a moped-like engine broke the quiet. Lt Col Ray, a commander with Ukraine’s 414th aviation brigade, took cover in a ditch. Moments later, a drone climbed into the mauve sky at a 45-degree angle, its orange flames flickering. Resembling a sleek grey biplane, it continued onward while trailing thick black smoke and the smell of gunpowder.

## Related coverage

- [Video shows Russian drone taunting and attacking Ukrainian civilian](https://mins.news/en/video/13388) — DW News, 2026-08-04
- [Ukraine: Drone follows man before detonating and injuring him](https://mins.news/en/item/12986) — France 24, 2026-08-04
- [Russia’s Battlegroup North downs over 120 Ukrainian UAVs heading to border areas at night](https://mins.news/en/item/11928) — TASS, 2026-08-02