Hairdresser by day, drone hunter by night helps defend skies over Ukraine By Reuters

By Margaryta Chornokondratenko and Yiming Woo

KYIV (Reuters) – A hairdresser by working day and a “drone hunter” by night time, Oleksandr Shamshur, 41, is amid tens of 1000’s of volunteers helping protect the skies over Ukraine against Russian attacks.

As the Feb. 24 initial anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears, Ukraine is starting to be significantly adept at taking pictures down Russian missiles and drones fired at cities much from the entrance lines, and Shamshur takes delight in his very own purpose.

Users of his territorial defence unit, like a law firm and a businessman, react to air raid alerts in and about the funds Kyiv by in search of to down Iranian-built Shahed-136 drones with a restored Environment War Two equipment gun.

“I am a extremely joyful person. Why? Due to the fact I am defending my state, I am defending our Ukrainian people today,” Shamshur claimed as he combed the capital’s moonlit skyline through a thermal camera with a vary finder from his placement on a rooftop.

Nearby, a fellow fighter was modifying the green barrels of the Soviet-manufactured “Maxim” equipment gun.

“But at the identical time I can come to the beauty salon and function with the men and women, do the do the job I know, reduce hair and talk to clients,” claimed Shamshur.

He said it under no circumstances transpired to him as a civilian to “operate absent and disguise someplace” when tens of thousands of Russian armoured forces stormed into a shocked Ukraine last winter season and started bombarding Kyiv and other cities.

“With the enemy at the doorstep, I had to do something, I experienced to act in defence,” he claimed.

For the duration of the night time of Dec. 29-30, Shamshur mentioned, his rooftop unit shot down two drones more than Kyiv. His workforce have also passed on the techniques they have uncovered to other units.

Shamshur sporting activities various badges on his camouflage uniform, including a person, “Drone Hunters”, in English, and yet another in Ukrainian studying “Ronin” – a feudal Japanese warrior – that he has adopted as his nom-de-guerre.

When Russia invaded, Shamshur – an army reservist in advance of the war – realized that his military foundation experienced previously been ruined by Russian shelling so he joined territorial defences, to begin with delivering food items to civilians and helping evacuate people.

At operate in his salon, nonetheless putting on military khaki as he styled a client’s hair, he reported he tries not to converse to his clientele about the war, calling it “darkish” in distinction to the “light-weight” in the tranquil aspect of his existence.