On the ground Politicians' talk means little to Ukraine's troops

Over dinner on Monday, a simple barbecue of meat and roasted vegetables, the soldiers of Ukraine's 150th reconnaissance and strike battalion have other things on their mind.

- Dan Sabbagh

Over dinner on Monday, a simple barbecue of meat and roasted vegetables, the soldiers of Ukraine's 150th reconnaissance and strike battalion have other things on their mind. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the White House and Donald Trump has just promised to give Ukraine "very good protection". When this development is passed on to the group around, one of the soldiers pipes up "from who?" and laughs, such is the uncertainty about who the US really supports. But in reality the troops are not following the news closely; after three and a half years the war has its own momentum, technology and schedule.

Soon after, a squad of soldiers drive out with a bomber drone into the night. It is assembled on the edge of a field where the sunflowers are nearly at their fullest extent. Two 3.5kg explosives are inserted, then wings and a nose are attached before it is launched from a catapult. Then, immediately, it is time to pack up and leave - "the most dangerous time is after launch," a crew member says, if Russian surveillance quickly spots the drone after take off.

On the horizon there is no sign of the fighting easing. The front line Ukrainian village of Dobropillya, now targeted by Russian bombing, is about six miles away. At one point there is a sequence of orange flashes in the distance. Later, tracer bullets are visible against the clear sky: judging by the location, probably Ukrainians trying to shoot down a Russian drone.