Inside the Peaky Blinders unit in Ukraine launching devastating drone attacks on Putin’s forces
A group of volunteers who bonded over their love of Peaky Blinders have become one of Kyiv’s most-feared military units – claiming to have killed hundreds of Russian soldiers in Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
At the beginning of Russia’s invasion, the group of civilians turned out to defend their hometowns armed only with shotguns like the Shelby gang in the television hit. But after three years of intense fighting, the unit – named The Peaky Blinders – have evolved to become one of Kyiv’s deadliest drone squads.
They play out a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, launching cheap, mass-produced drones to drop bombs on tanks and enemy foxholes while dodging Russian retaliation in the forests in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The region is the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
Their weapons, controlled by remote, cost up to £800 and the unit can lose on average six a day if the wind is particularly strong.
Nearly 85 per cent of daily Russian casualties occur in the area as Putin’s forces, referred to as Orcs by the unit, try to capture the whole of the Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk regions.
The National Guard unit became known during their staunch defence of Vovchansk, a city in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine which has essentially been destroyed by fighting. In October 2024, they were sent to defend the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk. The city is a key target for Russia and they have thrown waves of troops at trying to seize it.
After being filmed by the BBC, one of the soldiers in the Peaky Blinders signed two of their signature caps and asked the reporters to give them to Cillian Murphy, who brought fictional gang leader Thomas Shelby to life.
The flattered Oscar-winner reportedly kept one cap, signed the other and sent it back to the frontline soldiers with a message of support for their cause.
Creator Steven Knight took it a step further and sent 30 more flat caps from Garrison Tailors – the official designer of the series – to the then rag-tag bunch of volunteers.
Most of them still wear their flat cap with their own motto: “To Find and Destroy”, embroidered into the back – even during combat.
“It all began as a joke but then we developed into a fully operational combat unit and started recruiting members,” co-founder and commander of the unit Anton Spitsyn told ABC.
“Everyone here is a volunteer. We don’t have any professional soldiers,” he said. “We have already demonstrated that we can effectively defend our land whether you are a builder, a farmer or a musician.”
Before the invasion, Anton, who was born in Kharkiv Oblast, taught English to Ukrainian orphans for free, and through his construction business even repaired a children’s neurological hospital at his own expense.
Anton’s death was announced by his younger brother Oleksandr early in February, after he was fatally wounded on the battlefield. Oleksandr is said to have succeeded Anton as leader of the unit. The group has promised vengeance on Putin.
