The Ukrainian town enmeshed in netting to evade deadly Russian drones

0:00Support for this podcast and the following message come from Allianz Travel Insurance. Your flight booked, your lungs suddenly battling bronchitis. Travel insurance helps protect your travel budget so you can book again once you feel better. Learn more at AllianzTravelInsurance.com. On today's State of the World, we go to the Ukrainian town where residents now walk and drive entirely under wide stretches of overhead netting. It's an effort to evade the latest deadly weapons from Russia. You're listening to State of the World from NPR. The day's most vital international stories. Up close where they're happening.

0:42It's Friday, March 20th. I'm Christine Arismath. As Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the front line is creeping slowly forward in areas of eastern Ukraine. People there are getting ready. One of the first signs that the war is coming closer is the increase in deadly FPV, or first-person view drones, which can now fly up to 15 miles and cannot be jammed because they're piloted with fiber optic cables. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley visited a town that's preparing in what might seem like a very low-tech way. Oh my God, this is incredible. We're driving into the town of Izum on the main road and it's completely covered in nets.

1:31White nets go over the road and down the two sides, supported on wooden poles. were under a canopy of white nets. Our first stop on this icy freezing day, a coffee shop on the town's main street. It's strange to see them in major towns, especially when you live here for so long. It's a little bit sad. That's Andriy, who's stationed here with the Ukrainian military. He's not allowed to give his last name. He says the nets stopped the drones, which send live video feeds to their pilots as they home in on a target because their propellers get tangled in them. Victoria Samare is lounging in a chair reading a book.

2:12The fashion rep from Kiev is here to spend a couple days with her husband, who's on leave from the front. Last year they met up in a nearby city that's now become too dangerous. Just at a click, everything changed. And now we see all these nets and we all understand that it's a sign of something, that the drones can reach any part of the city. Izum is famed for its charming 19th-century buildings, many now lying in rubble or pockmarked with shell holes. The town was occupied for six months by Russian forces during the first year of the war. 19-year-old Sofia Verbitska is making coffees to serve customers in this cafe.

2:52She grew up in Izum. She says it was a nice place before the Russians invaded. These nets scare us because before there were no nets and since they appeared, local people feel uncomfortable here because it means that the front line is approaching to the city. Outside, cars drive along under a long tunnel of netting as people go about their everyday lives. 20-year-old Maxim Yivsykov is making his way up the icy sidewalk under the drone nets. He says he doesn't mind the nets because they're for our own good. He remembers the day the Russians arrived.

3:36I heard shooting, and when I came out in the street, there were Russian military vehicles and soldiers waving Russian flags. Our family lived in the kitchen for six months, and we made food outside on the open fire because there was no power. He says the Russians would take you to the basement and simply kill you if you spoke in Ukrainian or said something wrong. There's a mass grave right outside town. Yiv Sukhov says Ukraine cannot give up any territory it has held on to. We cannot leave people to the Russians, he says. Because of security reasons. At an undisclosed location outside of town, we meet Dr.

4:13Oleksiy Mikoyuk, who treats soldiers from the front line. He's seen the damage done by FPV drones and says Izum is taking a necessary step. We don't have a lot of drones right now, but we don't know how much drones we're going to get in like two weeks. Frontline is coming every day and yeah, it can save lives. Ukraine's government has announced a plan to install some 2 ,500 miles of drone nets on frontline roads by the end of 2026, a sign of just how much drones are changing the way we fight wars. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Izum, Ukraine.

4:57That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening. This message comes from Babbel. Babbel's conversation-based language technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world. With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers, start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 55 % off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com slash NPR. Spelled B-A-B-B-E-L dot com slash NPR. Rules and restrictions may apply. This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees, and free perks, Mint Mobile might be right for you with plans starting from$15 a month.

5:47Shop plans today at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for a 3-month 5GB plan required. New customer offer for first 3 months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Dataiku. AI agents are transforming how enterprises work. The problem is many operate in secret. The right people rarely know what their agents are doing, if they're doing it right, or that they even exist at all. Dataiku gives companies one place to see, control, and measure every agent across the entire business.

6:26Visit dataiku.com slash NPR. That's D-A-T-A-I-K-U dot com slash NPR.