Ukrainian troops have been caught in terrifying footage retreating as Russian drones rain terror on the ‘road of death’.
In what appears to be a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, tiny Russian drones hunted down Ukrainian soldiers on the war-torn country’s infamous R200 highway in a relentless barrage of attacks.
Shocking reports have emerged of Ukrainian troops being forced to flee on foot through muddy fields and bombed-out roads after Russia launched a devastating counter-offensive in the Kursk region.
The withdrawal – described by some as ‘chaotic’ – has left the R200 littered with the charred remains of vehicles and the bodies of fallen soldiers.
The nightmare began seven months after Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Kursk, with Russian forces exploiting a weak spot in Ukraine’s defences to tighten their grip on the region.
Despite claims from US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that forces had been surrounded, insiders have since revealed that the withdrawal was messy but not a rout.
Now, chilling details are emerging of the brutal final days on the R200. Soldiers have described coming under constant fire from Russian artillery and drones – including sophisticated fibre optic models controlled remotely from 12 miles away.
One Ukrainian soldier told the BBC that the drones would appear out of nowhere, either crashing into vehicles or detonating on the road like landmines.
‘We almost died several times. Drones were in the sky all the time,’ he said.
Another soldier likened the retreat to ‘a horror movie’ with vehicles exploding all around them and comrades being killed mid-evacuation.
‘The roads are littered with hundreds of destroyed cars, armoured vehicles and ATVs. There are a lot of wounded and dead,’ he said.
The final blow came on March 9, when Russian forces dropped a powerful FAB-3000 glide bomb on a key bridge near Kazachya Loknya, cutting off crucial Ukrainian supply lines.
Three days later, Russian drones descended on the area in waves, leaving Ukrainian commanders with no choice but to order a full-scale withdrawal.
But for many soldiers, it was too late.
Some were forced to march 12 miles back to the Ukrainian border under the cover of darkness, with Russian forces rapidly advancing behind them.
One unit commander revealed it took his men two days to escape, only to discover their abandoned positions already occupied by the enemy.
Russia’s surprise breakthrough came after troops reportedly used a disused gas pipeline to sneak behind Ukrainian lines and launch a devastating assault.
Ukraine responded with a counterstrike, but by then, the damage had been done.
The chaos has sparked growing anger among Ukrainian troops, with some questioning why commanders did not order a retreat weeks earlier.
‘We couldn’t even use our Himars rockets because Trump cut off intelligence-sharing,’ one soldier said.
‘We couldn’t afford to waste expensive missiles on the wrong target.’
North Korean troops, recently deployed to the battlefield, are also being credited with helping Russia’s advance.
An assault commander said Pyongyang’s soldiers had initially suffered heavy losses but have since become a ‘highly effective fighting force’.
Meanwhile, Russia’s dominance on the R200 has left Ukraine scrambling to secure nearby Sumy, with President Volodymyr Zelensky warning that Russian forces are now massing at the border.
An aid worker in the region described the situation as ‘really tense’ with drones being shot down everyday.
‘The enemy is right on our doorstep,’ said Liza Sherstyuk.
As for Kursk, some reports suggest Russian forces may have even allowed Ukrainian soldiers to escape.
A video posted on Telegram – which has not been independently verified – appears to show a Russian soldier claiming they were ordered to let Ukrainian troops flee through the fields.
‘Basically, Sudzha’s taken, the Ukrainians are retreating, and we’re f****** told not to touch them. Let them carefully slip out through the fields,’ the Russian soldier said in the clip.
Putin had reportedly promised a safe passage for Ukrainian troops if they surrendered – but few believed the tyrant leader’s words.
On March 16, about two weeks after the start of Russia’s counter-offensive, Ukraine’s general staff finally confirmed the full withdrawal from Sudzha, days after Moscow claimed its capture.
