n a small town outside Pokrovsk, a city in eastern Ukraine under siege by Russia, a soldier guides an armored vehicle down a muddy, snow-swept lane. In the early winter darkness, lights flash on the horizon as the two armies trade artillery fire.

In the driveway of a rundown house, two soldiers work quickly under the glow of headlamps, loading weapons from a shed into the back of a battered truck. “They’re going to take one of our drones into the field,” says a 35-year-old military technician named Yurii.

For security reasons, Yurii declines to be photographed and shares only his first name. He says he was a video game programmer before enlisting in Ukraine’s army earlier this year. Now he’s part of a drone unit supporting Ukraine’s 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade, which is charged with helping defend Pokrovsk.