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UKRAINE'S army has long been seen as an innovative and remarkable force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
Their military might has been widely praised across the globe for how they continue to develop drones, planes and even modified super weapons to help them valiantly strike back at Vladimir Putin's forces.
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Many were left fearing Putin's meat grinder tactics would allow him to bulldoze his way deep into enemy territory with Ukraine having little defensive weaponry at their disposal when the conflict started.
But as the war enters its fourth bloody year, Zelensky'sarmy has proven itself as a force capable of fighting on all fronts through various means.
Despite the impressive creativity on show, Ukraine has still been hampered by a lack of crucial supplies from international allies, leaving them struggling to turn the tide.
But as Russia continues to attack their brave enemy - with Putin now taking back much of the Kursk region in recent days - Ukraine is continuing to hold on.
In recent months, footage of their successful attacks have started to install a rich faith in the world that Russia winning the war won't ever come easy.
Colonel Hamish De Bretton Gordon told The Sun he has been amazed by the weapons Ukraine has created and how effective they have been in holding off Russia.
He said: "We're now over three years into this war and certainly the Russians thought that it would be over in a few days or weeks.
"Russia started this war with one of the most powerful army's in the world but Ukraine has managed to hang on to this fight and have fought the Russians to a standstill through their innovative use of what they've had.
"It has been remarkable but when we look back in history, when you absolutely need to do things to survive, it's remarkable what you come up with."
The Ukrainian talent on the battlefield has been scrutinised in recent days after a turbulent last week, which saw US President Donald Trump halt military aid to Ukraine.
Inside Britain’s big guns blasting back Russian invaders in Ukraine
The shock decision left Ukraine and much of Europe scrambling to reinforce Zelensky's military and make use of what weapons they had left at their disposal.
Days passed with US aid officially being taken off the table as Ukraine pleaded with Trump to help them in their war.
Experts feared Ukraine would have only managed to go a few months without without America's help before their arsenal was all used up.
But after a crunch meeting in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukraine representatives on Tuesday Trump finally changed his mind.
All aid has now been restored, with Ukraine able to not only bolster up their defensive and offensive weapons but also share key intelligence data to help stay ahead of the Russians.
Here we take a closer look at how they've managed to fight back with the use of clever weaponry and tactics...
DRONE WARFARE
The Ukrainian army has quickly become specialists in aerial warfare with their arsenal of drones becoming particularly advanced.
One of their finest weapons is their dragon drone which spews flesh-melting thermite onto Russian fighters.
The drone is capable of firing a 2,500°C mixture of the deadly liquid onto bunkers before setting itself alight and flying inside the bunker hoping to take Russian soldiers with it.
Anyone caught beneath it is almost instantly killed.
Thermite weapons have been favoured by Ukrainian drone operators in the past as they burn up Russian vehicles like tanks with ease.
Ukraine's use of drone warfare has kept Putin's troops at bay since the conflict started.
They have repeatedly used impressive aerial tactics to strike key Russian infrastructure and to take out incoming fighters with ease.
Past footage has also showed Ukrainian drones equipped with machine guns being used for the first time to ambush Russian troops.
Ukrainian soldiers fitted a drone made by the Wild Hornets manufacturers - with an AK-47 assault rifle and used it to fire on opposition forces.
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They have also unleashed a shotgun-wielding drone to hunt down and destroy Russians on the battlefield.
Foundation for Assistance to Defenders of Ukraine shared a compilation of the drone-on-drone executions on social media.
The minute-long clip shows a small Russian aircraft soaring above a Ukrainian warzone before being ruthlessly targeted.
In the thrilling video a Ukrainian drone stealthily appears above its Russian counterpart with two shotguns attached to its front.
What they've developed has been quite incredible... These drones that are maybe $500 have been used to take out tanks worth millions and millions of dollars.
Colonel Hamish De Bretton Gordon
The operator takes aim and with near pinpoint accuracy fires - launching a deathly bullet straight to the Russian drone.
Hamish says the use of the drones has not only been effective in attacking Russian infrastructure and troops, but also through their defensive abilities.
The drones can scout out behind enemy lines and track Russian movements as well as being used as a deterrent to push back incoming soldiers.
The ex-military ace said: "What they've developed has been quite incredible. I think, President Zelensky said a few weeks ago that they'd produced 2.2 million drones in the last 12 months.
"It's not just the quantity that they've got but it's really how they use them.
"These drones that are maybe $500 have been used to take out tanks worth millions and millions of dollars.
"And the Ukrainians have been able to attack deep into Russia."
Ukraine's aerial capabilities are set to be tested even further in the recent months should the conflict rage on, after their military reportedly ran out of US-made Atacms long-range missiles.
Kyiv’s supply of the missiles are said to have completely ran out in January, a US official and Ukrainian politician told AP.
PLANE WARFARE
Another key area of Ukraine's forces impressing experts is their use of light aircraft.
They have been mostly using WW2-style planes to hunt down Russian drones on the battlefield.
Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, a retired RAF commander, told The Sun Ukraine has taken inspiration from Britain's famous Spitfires to make headway in the skies against Putin's endless troops.
In a scene reminiscent of WW2, dramatic video showed Kyiv's propeller-driven Yak-52 plane in an intense dogfight with a Russian drone in the sky above southern Ukraine last year.
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One soldier flies the aircraft as another sits in the backseat firing away with a volley of shots from a machine gun.
Bagwell said: "It's just another example showing just how good Ukraine has been at innovating and adapting during the war."
Ukraine have also started to deploy unmanned aircrafts packed with explosives.
This helps them strike a target while keeping personal losses at a minimum.
Hamish says this has proven to be "immensely impressive".
The world can and should learn from Ukraine
EXPERTS have said the way Ukraine has handled themselves and constantly come up with new plans of attack is something other military's can aspire towards.
Colonel Hamish De Bretton Gordon told The Sun: "They've changed the way we fight, and the use of AI to control multiple thousands of drones at a time is something all us military people are looking at and learning from.
"I know that the British army itself is looking at it, to see how they can learn.
"How can they fight as effectively as these, in effect, amateurs who have very quickly become a professional.
"The ways of fighting and technology always accelerate during warfare, and we've had over three years of it now.
"What we must do as a country is make sure we're absolutely up to speed, and are learning and copying all the really good things that Ukraine has done."
NATURAL SELECTION
Another creative way Ukraine has kept despot Putin at bay is by chucking a beehive at Russian troops hiding in a bunker, after running out of grenades.
Unbelievable footage, posted on Telegram, showed two Ukrainian soldiers amidst ruins in the east of the country carrying the insects together.
Drone footage captured the moment they chucked the wooden crate down the hole - directly onto the enemy.
Elsewhere, a key area where the Ukrainian Armed Forces have found success is through traditional hand-to-hand combat.
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Ukrainian soldiers have even been trained in unarmed combat by a British martial arts instructor from Worcester since Putin's illegal invasion.
Tommy Moore, 34, told the BBC: "These guys would much rather be sat at home, playing video games, drinking beer, having girlfriends and going out on dates but they are thrust into this war zone.
"But as soon as you start chucking people around, hitting each other, there's like a universal language and bond.
"Soon as you get to grips with each other, they appreciate it."
BOOBY TRAP ATTACK
Brave Zelensky’s troops are even thought to have booby-trapped military googles used to operate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with blinding explosives.
Ukraine reportedly left eight of Putin's drone operators unable to see after launching the clever attack scheme via a mysterious volunteer group in a plot similar to the Israeli pager blitz carried out by the IDF.
The apparent sabotage mission caught Putin’s drone troops off-guard as the glasses were reportedly rigged to blow up when turned on.
Dozens of similar explosions have been reported by troops since mid-February, according to defence site Militarnyi.
RISE OF DRONE WARFARE IN UKRAINE
DRONES have been deployed in the war in Ukraine on an unprecedented scale as thousands are used daily to hunt down enemy forces, guide artillery and bomb targets - transforming modern land warfare.
Ukraine has become increasingly reliant on first-person-view (FPV) drones — nimble, target-seeking, kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Since early 2023, the cheap, explosive, flying machines have become one of Kyiv's biggest success stories after its military ran perilously short on munitions due to long-stalled Western weapon shipments.
The attack UAVs have come to define the conflict, helped by constant streams of footage filmed onboard as they tail troops, blast Russian positions or smash into tanks worth millions with ruthless precision.
The potent quadcopters cost around £300, are largely made from off-the-shelf pieces of kit and as demand soars, an army of civilians are helping to assemble them in their homes.
Some are fitted with grenades or homebuilt bombs, others are used for reconnaissance missions to identify enemy positions and guide artillery fire.
Now, almost every fighting brigade in Ukraine has an assault drone company.
The success of FPVs on the battlefield has become "undeniable", according to the commander of Ukraine's attack drone operations.
The senior special forces officer "Arsenal" told The Sun the quadcopters-turned-munitions now successfully blitzes Putin's targets in three out of five operations.
He said: “If Mavic (surveillance) drones are our eyes - for the adjustment of artillery fire, withdrawal of groups to positions, reconnaissance - then FPV drones are our sword, our strike force."
And drones are not just used on the battlefield - both Ukraine and Russia are hitting targets hundreds of miles deep into enemy territory using long-range UAVs.
They are highly cost effective means to blitz factories making weapons, military bases or energy facilities.
And yet, in a constant game of cat and mouse, both sides are developing increasingly sophisticated means of stopping drones using electronic warfare.
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English (US) · 