(Reuters) -Chinese-made engines are being covertly shipped via front companies to a state-owned drone manufacturer in Russia, labelled as "industrial refrigeration units" to avoid detection in the wake of Western sanctions,

Russian drone operators and their positions are priority targets for their Ukrainian counterparts in the 30th Prince Kostyantyn Ostrozkiy Mechanized Brigade. These Ukrainian soldiers are also busy fending off daily incursions in the Donetsk region.

The Bulava unit is part of Ukraine’s Presidential Brigade, which also performs ceremonial guard duties in Kyiv but mostly became a regular combat brigade after the 2022 invasion. Ignatukha and his men saw the war changing and got into drone technology, using their own salaries to buy equipment and build their skills.

Russia has deployed its first weapon made entirely of Chinese parts into the Ukrainian airspace in a bid to spook Kiev's air defences.

Ukraine's Brave1 hopes all of its infantry will eventually carry its new anti-drone rifle rounds, designed to fire from NATO-issued rifles.

The US and Ukraine are discussing a “mega deal” for Washington to purchase battle-tested drones from eastern Europe in exchange for American heavy weaponry.

A Russian factory, described by its director as the world's biggest maker of strike drones, has been shown on the Russian army's TV channel with teenagers helping make kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine.

Ukraine has already signed four contracts worth over 3 billion hryvnias for the supply of interceptor drones capable of countering Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Shahed type, according to the head of the Ministry of Defense,