Who is Andrii Pokrasa? How a 15-yr-old Ukrainian boy thwarted invading Russian forces
Fifteen-year-old Andrii Pokrasa has been praised as a true hero of Ukraine for using his toy drone to assist Ukraine’s armed forces in locating and destroying a massive Russian convoy, which was making its way down the E40 highway between Kyiv and Zhytomyr.
The Ukrainian military was made aware that Russian tanks were headed toward Kyiv, but did not know the exact coordinates. The 15-year-old was called upon by the civil defence forces to help as he was one of the few local residents who knew how to operate a drone and could determine the GPS coordinates of the convoy.
READ MORE
Who is Chris Licht? New CNN boss could tighten screws on uber-liberal super-anchors
What is Bechdel Test? Writer Hanna Rosin SLAMMED for criticizing Hulu's 'Fire Island'
As per the reports by Global News, Pokrasa said the experience was very scary but he didn’t want the Russian soldiers to overrun his town. He further said the civil defence forces turned to him because they needed the GPS coordinates of the Russian column so it could be targeted. “They provided us information where approximately the Russian column could be. Our goal was to find the exact coordinates and provide the coordinates to the soldiers,” the teen said.
“It was one of the biggest columns that was moving on the Zhytomyr road and we managed to find it because one of the trucks turned on its lights for a long time.” Appreciating the boy, Yurii Kasjanov, a commander with Ukraine’s unmanned recon unit, said, "He was the only one who was experienced with drones in that region. He’s a real hero, a hero of Ukraine.”
The incident was confirmed by his parents, the head of the Ukrainian drone owners federation and a commander in the armed forces unmanned reconnaissance section. The approach was so successful that the Ukranian military handed the teenager the controls of a high-grade drone with a longer range.
On the other hand, thousands and thousands of Ukrainian civilians had volunteered in their local territorial defence units in the days leading up to the Russian invasion, and many more were later enlisted when martial law and conscription came into the picture. Ukrainian civilians, who are not involved directly in fighting Russian troops, are able to contribute via crowdfunding, both to the government and independent units aiding in the effort to ward off the Russians. They got set up in Ukraine following the invasion, and have since been supported internationally.