Video taking off 17x its usual first day

Drones interrupt a wounded soldier's evacuation on the road to Druzhkivka

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's embedded report follows Ukrainian troops past destroyed delivery vehicles and into a city devastated by aerial bombs.

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Story of October 25, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 48,460 views a day, 17 times a normal first day on this channel (2,790).

This Is What It Takes To Reach A Frontline City In Ukraine

Things we can learn from the video

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0:41Destroyed unmanned delivery vehicles show the hazards facing supplies moving along the route.
1:03Soldiers and the reporter sprint between cover to evade Russian FPV drones.
1:48Resident Tetyana describes losing her apartment and summer house and asks for the war to end.
2:18A drone strike interrupts a wounded soldier's evacuation; troops later resume the transfer.
3:30The team reaches central Druzhkivka, where aerial bombardment has left widespread ruins.
4:45Commander "Kent" describes Russian infiltration attempts and flag-raising raids ahead of larger advances.

Destroyed unmanned delivery vehicles lie along the route. Farther on, soldiers and correspondent Roman Pahulych sprint between places of cover, trying to avoid Russian drones overhead.

"FPV drones track movement, so we have to run through these areas," Pahulych explains in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's report from the road to Druzhkivka, in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

The report reached about 43,000 views in eighteen hours, far beyond the channel's usual first-day audience. Its Ukrainian Service joined soldiers from Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade, showing how even reaching the frontline city requires repeated stops, shelter and exposed runs.

An evacuation brings that danger into focus. A drone strikes a vehicle being used to move a wounded soldier, briefly stopping the transfer. "The drone was sitting on a roof, waiting. Then it hit our vehicle directly," says Andriy, a Ukrainian soldier. Troops fire rifles at an incoming drone before continuing the evacuation.

Inside Druzhkivka, the report turns to what remains of civilian life. Resident Tetyana says her apartment and summer house have been destroyed. "I just want this war to end as soon as possible."

Reaching the center reveals streets and neighborhoods ruined by aerial bombardment. Battalion commander "Kent" describes constant Russian infiltration attempts, including efforts to raise flags ahead of a major advance. The reporting team then boards its truck to leave, again under the threat of drone surveillance.

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