David Guttenfelder

Drone Wars

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, artillery, missiles, tanks and trench warfare dominated the battlefield. Ukrainian forces faced a vastly larger and more mechanized military. Their survival depended on improvisation, shaping one of the most significant shifts in modern warfare: the rise of drone combat.

Hobby drones are being repurposed into remote-controlled weapons, and mass-produced first-person-view (FPV) drones are piloted from kilometers away with deadly precision. The result is an unrelenting drone arms race with Russia and Ukraine now manufacturing millions of drones per year. The technology is already being replicated in conflicts worldwide.

Vast areas of Ukraine have been turned into “kill zones” where civilians are targeted, displaced, and often trapped. Soldiers spend most of their time in underground bunkers or basements, unable to be resupplied or casualty-evacuated. The rapid advancement of drone technology is outpacing international legal frameworks, raising profound questions about accountability, oversight, and the protection of civilian life.

This story documents Ukraine’s efforts to advance its drone capabilities, and the impact of Russian drone attacks on civilians and soldiers.



With the great & .shyvala. Thanks to

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, artillery, missiles, tanks and trench warfare dominated the battlefield. Ukrainian forces faced a vastly larger and more mechanized military. Their survival depended on improvisation, shaping one of the most significant shifts in modern warfare: the rise of drone combat.

Hobby drones are being repurposed into remote-controlled weapons, and mass-produced first-person-view (FPV) drones are piloted from kilometers away with deadly precision. The result is an unrelenting drone arms race with Russia and Ukraine now manufacturing millions of drones per year. The technology is already being replicated in conflicts worldwide.

Vast areas of Ukraine have been turned into “kill zones” where civilians are targeted, displaced, and often trapped. Soldiers spend most of their time in underground bunkers or basements, unable to be resupplied or casualty-evacuated. The rapid advancement of drone technology is outpacing international legal frameworks, raising profound questions about accountability, oversight, and the protection of civilian life.

This story documents Ukraine’s efforts to advance its drone capabilities, and the impact of Russian drone attacks on civilians and soldiers.



With the great & .shyvala. Thanks to

Thanks to everyone at for supporting and amplifying this work.

The human toll of the war has spared few parts of southern Lebanon.

Temporary graves sprang up across the south as fighting made village cemeteries impossible to reach.

When the temporary cease-fire took hold, those graves were exhumed.

And families finally returned to their villages to bury their dead.

The latest war between Hezbollah and Israel has devastated parts of Lebanon, wiping out entire villages, destroying livelihoods and killing thousands.

More than 3,000 Lebanese have been killed since the war broke out in March, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Monday.

A tenuous cease-fire went into effect on April 17, but Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, have traded daily fire since then. The fighting has escalated in recent weeks.

Still, the relative calm of the truce’s early days ushered in a period of mourning. Many seized on the lull to return to villages in southern Lebanon that they had fled and to bury their dead.

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Link in my bio

For more, please see our story Lebanon- A Lull in Fighting Gave Time to Bury Their Dead

Photography w/editing

Writing w/ .hwaida

Multiple Israeli missile strikes on the highway south of Beirut during our moves this morning.

In Lebanon w/

After & Before
May 2026
Dahiya, Lebanon

After & Before
September 2025
Dahiya, Lebanon

The remains of the Sayyed al-Shuhadaa Complex, an venue for Hezbollah events, destroyed by recent Israeli airstrikes on Dahiya, the densely populated southern suburb of Beirut and a stronghold of Hezbollah.

In September of last year, I stood in the same spot inside Sayyed al-Shuhadaa Complex, to photograph widows and other family of Hezbollah members on the one year anniversary of Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leaders including Hassan Nasrallah.

“As Israel Entrenches, Frustration With Hezbollah Turns to Support”

Please have a read of our latest dispatch from southern Lebanon. Link in my bio

Written by & .hwaida
Photography
Visuals Editor

Across southern Lebanon during the temporary, 10-day truce.