The burned-out vehicle chassis on the streets of any city is a clear sign of the proximity of war. In the case of Ukraine, it is also a sign of the action of the feared FPV drones, those small devices, operated by Russian pilots from tens of kilometers away, that have gained a sad reputation for their tendency to attack without distinguishing between civilian or military targets in locations like Kherson.
The municipal teams of Kharkiv had managed to partially clean up the passage through the Pyatykhatky neighborhood, but there were still charred remains. Three in a stretch of a few tens of meters.
The images from the videos recorded on the night of the 22nd showed the violent fires caused by the FPV. One person was burned alive inside one of those cars.
Victoria Dioshyna, 62, was a few meters away. She says it was 9:00 at night. She heard a buzzing and then two explosions.
"We saw the cars burning. An hour later, another explosion was heard. A few days ago, on September 11, another FPV killed a person walking on this same sidewalk. Yes, we are afraid, but what can we do?" the woman says as she walks past the remains of the incident the morning after.
The 'Kherson Model'
The violent episode in Pyatykhatky is part of the raid launched by the Russians on that day against the northern neighborhoods of Kharkiv. Nearly half a dozen FPV exploded throughout the day in an operation that confirms the escalation adopted by Moscow's forces, which seem to want to export the Kherson model to the country's second-largest city.
"The Russian army terrorizes a district of Kharkiv with FPV drones," read the headline on that date in the Kharkiv Today newspaper, certifying the shock generated by the event.
The chilling sound of the FPV is already a constant routine in the urban centers of the eastern part of the country, but its appearance in a metropolis of 1.4 million people, known for being the cultural capital of Ukraine and for its architectural gems, represents another step in the spiral of violence that the war between the two states is experiencing.
According to local media, the first attack by a fiber-optic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the metropolis was recorded last February. During the summer, the Russians escalated the use of these devices, which, thanks to the cable connection, can evade electronic interference systems and can only be shot down.
Starting in July, these FPVs began to attack garbage trucks, evacuation vehicles, or simple cars parked on the streets. That month, one of these devices crashed into a residential building for the first time.
The founder of one of the country's most well-known military units, the Khartia Brigade, Vsevolod Kozhemyak, shared a concerning video in July in which one of the electronic devices capable of hijacking the image of UAVs showed images of the town center.
Vsevolod specified that they came from a Russian FPV camera and issued a warning: "Within four to six months, it is most likely that the city will be actively under the influence of enemy drones. They are the usual FPV drones, and the enemy has tens of thousands," he wrote on Facebook.
"FPVs are a new reality we will have to live with," said Dmytro Batinov, a senior officer at the Ukrainian army's Unmanned Systems Center, in a local agency a few weeks ago.
"Pure terror"
"This is pure terror against the civilian population. It is almost impossible to cause significant military damage with this type of drones in something as large as Kharkiv," he added.
The UAVs' actions have begun to be seen in the more peripheral areas of the metropolis, where burned gas stations are common, or in the surrounding villages. This is the area that began to be protected by anti-drone net tunnels starting in the summer.
"Be careful. A few days ago, a waiting drone attacked a truck not far from here. You can continue, but at your own risk," says one of the soldiers guarding a surveillance post on the city's M-30.
This is the stretch where a truck driver was killed in May, in another FPV assault.
Five kilometers away, the traveler comes across another destroyed gas station, where the burnt body of a overturned utility vehicle still remains.
A few kilometers away, in a rural hamlet on the outskirts of the city, Roslan Laptiy displays a collection of remains of all kinds of devices that have accumulated in the village's depot.
From a reactor of the new Geranium-5s to the motorcycle-type engines of the Iranian-origin Shahids or the fiber-optic cables of the FPVs.
"Left my arm and back full of shrapnel"
A firefighter by profession, Laptiy shows the recording of another recent attack by one of these UAVs against the truck destined to extinguish fires. It is clearly seen how it approaches flying over this same outdoor warehouse until it launches directly at the municipal vehicle.
"We have repaired it as best we can. Patching up the metal and replacing the windshield," he says.
His colleague Oleg Zarichanskiy was injured by these devices in July. He emphasizes that he saved his life by jumping from the municipal tractor just as he heard the buzzing. The completely burnt remains are also parked in the spacious area. "Left my arm and back full of shrapnel," he adds, showing the scars.
Military units like the Khartia Brigade have begun to position riflemen in the vicinity of Kharkiv to try to halt the onslaught of something that seems inevitable.
"This position was inaugurated in June," observes Baton - his military nickname - a member of that group stationed in a bunker covered with nets.
Both he and his companion remain attentive to the drone detector they have placed in the shelter, next to a powerful machine gun.
"It is true that the Russians want to apply the Kherson model here. Since the beginning of the year, we have recorded 118 FPV attacks, 41 of them with fiber-optic drones," estimates the mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov.
According to the municipal chief, the Russians have expanded the capabilities of these fiber-optic activated drones, which can now travel more than 40 kilometers, implying that they can reach any part of the city even if they depart from Russian territory.
"We are implementing a special protection plan. Anti-drone nets are just one part of that system, which includes mobile anti-aircraft units and electronic interception systems," he points out.
The harassment by FPVs has been preceded by that of larger missiles and drones, a continuous offensive that has gradually forced the city to move many of its activities underground. From artistic activities like the Opera or theatrical performances to new hotels built beneath the asphalt.
"We already have 10 schools and 24 educational spaces set up in the subway tunnels. There are 28,000 students attending these schools. Two hospitals have set up shelters capable of providing surgical and rehabilitation services. We have also created a large hall for cultural events," adds Terekhov.
The mayor is now also giving interviews in underground shelters. "Unfortunately, the Russians are forcing us to live like this; we can't have a normal life," he concludes.