Oleksandr Shamshur, 41, is a hairdresser by day and a “drone hunter” by night time – one in all tens of hundreds of volunteers serving to defend the skies over Ukraine in opposition to Russian assaults.

Because the February 24 first anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears, Ukraine is turning into more and more adept at capturing down Russian missiles and drones fired at cities removed from the entrance traces, and Shamshur takes delight in his function.

Members of his territorial defence unit, who embrace a lawyer and a businessman, reply to air raid alerts in and across the capital, Kyiv, by searching for to down Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones with a restored World Battle II machinegun.

“I’m a really pleased individual. Why? As a result of I’m defending my nation, I’m defending our Ukrainian individuals,” Shamshur mentioned as he combed the capital’s moonlit skyline via a thermal digital camera with a variety finder from his place on a rooftop.

Close by, a fellow fighter was adjusting the inexperienced barrels of the Soviet-made “Maxim” machinegun.

“However on the similar time, I can come to the wonder salon and work with the individuals, do the work I do know, reduce hair and discuss to purchasers,” he mentioned.

He mentioned it by no means occurred to him as a civilian to “run away and conceal someplace” when Russian armoured forces stormed right into a shocked Ukraine final winter and started bombarding Kyiv and different cities.

“With the enemy on the doorstep, I needed to do one thing, I needed to act in defence,” he mentioned.

Through the night time of December 29-30, Shamshur mentioned, his rooftop unit shot down two drones over Kyiv. His group members have additionally handed the abilities they’ve discovered on to different items.

Shamshur sports activities a number of badges on his camouflage uniform, together with one which reads “Drone Hunters” in English, and one other in Ukrainian studying “Ronin” – a feudal Japanese warrior – that he has adopted as his nom de guerre.

When Russia invaded, Shamshur – a military reservist earlier than the battle – discovered that his army base had already been destroyed by Russian shelling, so he joined territorial defences, initially delivering meals to civilians and serving to evacuate individuals.

At work in his salon, nonetheless carrying army khaki as he styled a shopper’s hair, he mentioned he tries to not discuss to his purchasers concerning the battle, calling it “darkish” in distinction to the “mild” within the peaceable a part of his life.