At the bottom of the forest in eastern Ukraine, a tank unit has been hiding under the trees.
Its giant machines, which include Soviet-era T-72s and a more advanced T-84, are protected by summer foliage at a luxury booth, with greasy leaves blocking most of the light.
However, this is not enough to reassure tank crews who fear the consequences of being detected by a Russian drone.
Each tank has been covered with camouflage nets and branches, making them virtually invisible to the human eye. We passed six tanks on the way to the forest and saw no vehicles.
Image: The unit has tanks disguised as foliage and camouflage nets Image: Andrii Koval inspects a tank
I asked the unit commander, Lieutenant Vitalii Timoshuk, why they had been so careful to disguise them.
“If we don’t have equipment, we have nothing to fight for. What can I say? We’re keeping our tanks safe because we don’t have many.”
We found members of a tank crew, working furiously on a T-84. It is a beautiful piece, the most advanced tank in the army, although Ukraine has only six.
With a large key, Andrii Koval told us that it is powerful and fast, although sometimes difficult to boot.
“There are some questions but overall it’s a good machine. It pulls well at distances of three or four miles and drives fast. That’s all we need.”
Andrii and his colleague Vadim are in their third tank now. They lost the first two by a heavy Russian fire.
Image: Vadim, member of the tank unit
A video of the first shot shows his tower smoking in the distance. The crew evacuated and Andrii and Vadim appear in the field.
“Once directly in our vehicle, the crew evacuated, an observer, a mechanic … and I, who was shot.”
A Russian shell whistled over his head.
Fighters who use their phones to document the battle while participating in it have become a feature of this war.
Image: Vitalii Timoshuk, the commander, wears a khaki shirt and a tank hidden over his left shoulder
When the commander of this secret tank base, Lt. Vitalii Timoshuk, told us how his unit repelled a Russian attack last week, he also had the images to illustrate it.
Lieutenant Timoshuk is only 21 years old and officially graduated from his military academy on the day of our visit.
But he says he gets a lot of help from his team.
“Our people have experience, they know why they came here, their families and our homeland. That will help us win.”
“You don’t have as much experience, you’re 21 and running the unit,” I suggested.
He replied: “I have no difficulty because my staff supports me. I am proud of them. And it is a pleasure to command and work with them. Our boys are great.”
“What did they think when you arrived, a 21-year-old, a leading unit?” I asked.
“I haven’t told them in a long time that I was 21. I’m not 21. What else can I say?”
Image: From left to right: Andrii Koval, John Sparks of Sky News, Roman Batsenko
The stolen Russian tank
Lieutenant Timoshuk told me that the Ukrainians had captured about 400 Russian armored vehicles, including five hitched to their unit.
I was introduced to tank crew member Roman Batsenko, who stole two tanks from under the enemy’s noses.
“Our intelligence told us about them. One had hit a mine. The other was working so we went (to look for them).”
I asked him how he felt the moment he jumped on a Russian tank.
“Happiness, happiness that we renewed our tank stock. The only fear came later when we learned that there were two hundred Russian tanks just a mile away. But they didn’t expect us to be so brazen and steal them.”
The Russian army is formidable and much better equipped, but there is a lot of spirit in the forest. The Russians may be defeated, says the unit commander, but they will have to be smart to overcome it.