On 6 August 2026, a film crew from Ukrainian TV channel STB came under attack by Russian FPV drones while travelling with Ukrainian servicemen and a press officer in Dnipropetrovsk region.
STB correspondent Anastasiia Vilkhova and camera operator Oleksandr Dubyna had travelled from Dnipro overnight to film a report about artillery soldiers of Ukraine’s 147th Separate Artillery Brigade. After meeting the press officer, they got into a military pickup truck and headed towards the soldiers’ positions.
At around 05:00, while the vehicle was travelling along an empty road, one of the servicemen detected a drone and ordered everyone to get out. Vilkhova said the crew, the press officer and the soldiers managed to leave the pickup before a Russian FPV drone hit the empty vehicle. The car caught fire, and the strike destroyed communications equipment, including a Starlink terminal.
Vilkhova said the group then came under attack by additional drones. Five people — two media workers and three servicemen — had to hide in a sunflower field and crawl deeper into it while Russian drones circled overhead. According to Vilkhova, Ukrainian servicemen shot down several drones, some of which fell around 10 metres from the group.
The journalist said she tried to hide her microphone with the bright red STB logo, fearing that if Russian drone operators realised they were targeting media workers, the number of drones sent after them could increase. Camera operator Oleksandr Dubyna continued filming the drone attacks while the group was hiding.
After around 40 minutes, servicemen from the same brigade who were passing along the road noticed smoke from the damaged pickup and found the group in the field. They evacuated the journalists and three servicemen to a safer location.
The media workers and servicemen escaped without serious injuries. Vilkhova sustained bruises and abrasions on her arms and knees from crawling through the field.