---
title: "To the supermarket in an armored vehicle: how Kramatorsk volunteers live under the threat of FPV drones"
description: "A volunteer from Universal Aid Ukraine described how, in Kramatorsk, even a trip to the supermarket now requires an armored vehicle and a \"Chuyka\" detector because of FPV drones. In 2025, the team evacuated 1,200 civilians."
date: 2026-09-09T11:00:22.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/kramatorsk-volunteers-armored-vehicle-fpv-drones
tags: [kramatorsk, fpv-drones, volunteers, evacuation, universal-aid-ukraine, donbas]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# To the supermarket in an armored vehicle: how Kramatorsk volunteers live under the threat of FPV drones

![Volunteer in protective gear with a radio near an armored vehicle in Kramatorsk](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/09/kramatorsk-volontery-bronirovannoe-avto-fpv-drony/kramatorsk-volontery-bronirovannoe-avto-fpv-drony-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- In Kramatorsk, volunteers, due to the threat of FPV drones, even drive to the supermarket in an armored vehicle equipped with a "Chuyka" detector.
- According to Anna Elsbrind, head of Universal Aid Ukraine, the team evacuated 1,200 civilians in 2025, and while moving, drones track vehicles on trackers.
- The key figures are based on the volunteer's personal testimony and are not confirmed by an independent second source.

In Kramatorsk, everyday life for those working on the front line of civilian evacuation has long ceased to be safe. According to 26-year-old Anna Elsbrind, head of the international evacuation team Universal Aid Ukraine, even a trip to an ordinary supermarket now requires an armored vehicle and a portable drone detector called "Chuyka." She told this in an interview with Tsenor.NET, as cited by RBC-Ukraine. Anna has lived in Kramatorsk since the beginning of 2023 and spends about 11 months a year in Ukraine, traveling to Germany mainly for Christmas.

### Armored vehicle and drone detector — the new normal

According to the volunteer, FPV drones attack vehicles on the city's main roads, and danger can arise at any moment. "We have to drive to the supermarket with an armored vehicle and a 'Chuyka' detector," Anna says. The team is forced to constantly watch the sky, hide from drones and change routes, and it is practically impossible to determine when it is "safer" in the city: attacks occur suddenly, and the drones fly so fast that a person may not have time to notice the threat and react.

### "Drones are following us"

The problem is felt most acutely while moving around the city and its surroundings. "Drones are following us; we can see our car on the tracker, and the drone keeps following it. We need to outrun the drone and be faster. Or hide from it," Anna recounts. She notes that she no longer remembers a single evacuation during which the team did not see a drone, and emphasizes that even an ordinary move around Kramatorsk requires constant awareness of the threat of a strike.

### Evacuation: responsibility for other people's lives

The hardest stage is the evacuation of civilians. As soon as people get into the vehicle, the team is responsible not only for its own safety but also for the lives of the passengers. The volunteers may themselves feel fear, but they are obliged to stay calm and reassure people that everything will be fine. In 2025, according to the organization's own data, Universal Aid Ukraine evacuated 1,200 civilians from dangerous areas; its teams are now working in Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Malotaranivka, Druzhkivka, as well as in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

### A city that is emptying

Despite the daily danger, Anna calls Kramatorsk her favorite city in Ukraine — "honest, real and connected to many personal moments" — recalling the nature of the Donbas, the fields, forests, water bodies and the night sky. At the same time, she sees how the city, which has become her home over three and a half years, is gradually emptying, and right now she cannot leave it: a mandatory evacuation is underway, and more and more people need help. "I am evacuating my neighbors, and my brain never rests," the volunteer admits, naming the inability to even briefly take her mind off the war as the main source of exhaustion.

### Contradictory data

The key figures and estimates in the material — in particular, the figure of 1,200 evacuees in 2025 and the claim that "no evacuation took place without drone observation" — are based exclusively on Anna Elsbrind's personal testimony and are not confirmed by an independent second source. The wording in the photo caption that the city became her home "over three and a half years" is consistent with the statement about moving in at the beginning of 2023 given the current date of September 2026, but the exact count depends on interpretation. In addition, the database of verified sources contains publications about an armored vehicle in the context of a different person and a different event, which are unrelated to the story of the Kramatorsk volunteer and should not be mixed with this material.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [To the supermarket in an armored car: a volunteer talks about the daily life of Kramatorsk](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/supermarketu-bronovanomu-avto-k-sogodni-zhive-1788948703.html) - Первичный источник: интервью Анны Элсбернд, детали о бронированном авто, «Чуйке», 1200 эвакуированных за 2025 год, локациях работы команды.
- [Armored car saved the driver's life: Sternenko explains where his Range Rover and security came from. Photos](https://www.obozrevatel.com/novosti-obschestvo/bronirovannoe-avto-spaslo-voditelyu-zhizn-sternenko-obyasnil-otkuda-u-nego-range-rover-i-ohrana-foto.htm) - Другой персонаж и событие; к истории волонтера из Краматорска отношения не имеет, в текст не включен.
- [Sternenko shares details of the attack on him: state security, armored car and two holes in his jeans](https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2025/05/02/7510298/) - Не связан с темой; исключен из фактологической базы статьи.
- ["We have to hide and wait." How volunteers are saving civilians from dangerous areas](https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukraina/5949566-prikhoditsya-pryatatsya-i-zhdat-kak-volontery-spasayut-grazhdanskikh-iz-opasnykh-rayonov) - Контекстный источник о работе волонтеров по эвакуации гражданских из опасных районов; согласуется с темой.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Why do volunteers in Kramatorsk drive to the supermarket in an armored vehicle?
**A:** According to Anna Elsbrind, due to the constant threat of FPV drones, which attack vehicles on the main roads, the team has to use an armored vehicle and a "Chuyka" drone detector even for ordinary trips.

### Q: How many civilians did Universal Aid Ukraine evacuate in 2025?
**A:** According to the organization's own data, in 2025 the team evacuated 1,200 civilians from dangerous areas. This figure is based on the head's testimony and is not confirmed by an independent source.

### Q: Where are the Universal Aid Ukraine teams currently working?
**A:** The organization's teams are working in Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Malotaranivka, Druzhkivka, as well as in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

### Q: Who is Anna Elsbrind?
**A:** She is 26 years old, has lived in Kramatorsk since the beginning of 2023, heads the international evacuation team Universal Aid Ukraine, and spends about 11 months a year in Ukraine.