Lions Led By Donkeys Podcast - *TRAILER* Lions Led By Donkeys Presents: The Kupiansk Dispatches

Episode Date: October 5, 2024

The first episode is now available on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/posts/113413305

In early 2024, we sent veteran conflict journalist Neil Howard to report on the city of Kupyansk, Ukraine. A city once occupied by Russia, liberated by the armed forces of Ukraine, and now threatened with occupation once again, as Russia continues to press forward with no end in sight to the war. Over the course of three episodes, Neil reports from the city as its population tries to cope and survive with their new reality. Listens to soldiers telling them about the reality on the front line, and sits with drone operators as they ply their trade in the skies above the battlefield. Lions led by donkeys presents the Kupiansk Dispatches. The first episode is available now on our Patreon, patreon.com slash lions led by donkeys. That's a big volley right there.

Probably a threat or something. As one Ukrainian officer I know put it, you can't beat a large Soviet army with a small Soviet army. They usually just shoot more at night. There's nothing that quite prepares you for seeing a destroyed city. The Ukrainian city of Kupyansk isn't quite there yet, but it's getting there. That was a bridge here before you could use on the other side. But the Russians destroyed it and killed two volunteers and 40 million people at that time.

Pure horror. The forest was on fire, there was guys screaming, 300s everywhere. The rockets must have hit somewhere close because I saw the wreckage. And my comrade says to me, we have to go and look for the boys. Where are they lying? We have to get them out of here. We're coming over, a young man was lying there just 20 years old. I immediately felt for his pulse in his arm and in his neck and I couldn't find one. My friend said, we still have to take him away. I said, let me focus on the people who are still alive. was already carrying one body how can I carry another the guy next to me his insides were already spilling out into the grass and all that

and you think fuck maybe I'm next the best thing is that you want to fuck up more the worst is that nobody fucking wants to die. We are as enabled. That's another drone who are checking the situation. Yeah. Like in a minute I will stop and I will follow you. I will follow you. You have to be the eyes in the sky for the infantry. Without us, they can only sit in the trenches and wait to die. We've all done different jobs in the military.

At one point, my commander said that we will need more drone specialists. I went to receive the training and here we are. The core elements of the Russian and Ukrainian militaries are basically identical to any other state-armed forces over the past century. But there is one major exception to this. Drones. Because actually, from here to the Russian positions, like less than three kilometers. But there is one major exception to this. Drones. It's a surreal feeling to realize that we are looking at the men our Ukrainian drone operator neighbors will momentarily be attempting to kill.