Meet the 'Peaky Blinders': Ukraine's drone squad defending Kharkiv | BBC News

In the village of Lyptsi, Ukrainian forces appear to have blunted Russia’s surprise offensive.

A few weeks ago, they were rapidly advancing towards Kharkiv - but with the help of reinforcements, Ukraine is slowly stemming the tide.

One Ukrainian unit on the frontline call themselves the Peaky Blinders, after the cult TV series.

Oleksandr, their leader, says at the outbreak of the war they turned up to guard their streets with shotguns, wearing civilian clothing - like a scene from the hit show.

The group uses cheap, mass-produced small drones to take out tanks, target groups of infantry or individual soldiers.