The Bulava unit is part of Ukraine’s Presidential Brigade, which also performs ceremonial guard duties in Kyiv but mostly became a regular combat brigade after the 2022 invasion. Ignatukha and his men saw the war changing and got into drone technology, using their own salaries to buy equipment and build their skills.

The Russians have fired thousands of Iranian-designed, 11-foot-long Shahed drones into Ukraine, while the Ukrainians have built their own long-range drones that can attack targets over 700 miles away.