Chance of victory: how a drone helped find an enemy tank

Andriy grew up in a military family from Bukovyna and joined the Territorial Defense Forces in winter 2022. Before the war, he worked in show business, writing songs for famous Ukrainian stars. Currently, Andriy works as a teacher at the Kyiv Municipal Academy of Variety and Circus Arts.

In mid-April 2022, Muzikant found himself in a combat zone in the Kharkiv region, serving as a gunner in the 107th Brigade of the 93rd Battalion of Territorial Defense. At that time, Andriy and his comrades successfully liberated the village of Velyka Komyshuvakha from Russian occupation. Later, Andriy's battalion was deployed to the Izyum direction, where he took part in battles near the village of Oskil and on the Svatove direction. From December 2022, Muzikant and his battalion successfully held the defense of Lymanske for three and a half months. On April 11, 2023, his battalion was rotated out.

An incident inspired Andriy to work with drones. Once, while reviewing drone footage with his comrades, their attention was drawn to a bottle in the grass. Upon closer analysis, the defenders noticed the barrel of a tank concealed in the vegetation. After this discovery, the enemy tank was successfully destroyed.

This incident convinced Andriy of the importance of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) work, and he decided to undergo training at the UA Drone School for the Basic Drone Pilot Course. At the school, Andriy honed his drone piloting skills, including operating under conditions that closely resemble combat situations. Currently, Muzikant serves in aerial reconnaissance as a UAV operator.

Andriy greatly impressed the entire team at UA Drone School, not only with his creativity and talent but also with his moral qualities. He plans to further develop his professional skills and says, "At the first opportunity, I will definitely return to UA Drone School to take the FPV (First Person View) course."

"Since the beginning of the year, we have been providing assistance to UA Drone School every month as part of the state project 'Drone Army' for the free training of military personnel," says Stanislav Andreev, the director of Slots City Foundation. "Our Foundation also supports military brigades with vehicles and military equipment, collects donations for internally displaced persons, and provides support to medical personnel. Each story from the School, each delivery to the front line, is our small chance for a great Victory."

Overall, the volunteers of Slots City Foundation have delivered over 100 shipments to the front line in the past year, including 19 drones, 30 vehicles, including trucks, thermal imagers, generators, as well as other equipment, gear, and clothing for the soldiers. In total, the support provided by the Foundation's friends to the army and war-affected individuals has exceeded 42 million UAH during its operation.

*The name and callsign of the soldier have been changed for security purposes.