They’re playing the long game.
Xbox has given the Ukrainian military a deadly advantage in its war against Russia, officials said — with ordinary geeks proving to be deft drone pilots on the frontlines.
Foreigners with “a lot of gaming experience” have become a secret weapon for Ukraine in the battle that’s become increasingly reliant on drones, said Oleg Grabovyy, a New Yorker and course coordinator for enlistees at Ukraine’s 25th Airborne Brigade.
“The dexterity you get with an Xbox controller is directly transferable to flying drones,” Grabovyy, of Syracuse, told The Independent. “The best FPV pilot I ever met was a relentless gamer.”
The enlistees come from America, Britain, Canada, Australia and France, many of whom flooded the 25th Airborne Brigade since the war began in 2022 and in recent months after Western support for Ukraine slowed down.
The unit quickly saw the influx of young, video game-savvy volunteers as an opportunity to open a three-week selection course aimed at transforming the enlistees into the ace drone pilots plaguing Russia’s invasion force.
One American who identified himself as Sam, a 20-year-old from Charleston, Georgia, said he was eager to prove his skills after competing in drone-racing tournaments across the US.
“Competing, you fly through 5-foot gates at 100mph, making tight turns. It’s all about precision and reflexes. I’m planning to use everything I’ve learned to help Ukraine,” he told The Independent.
“My mom and dad aren’t thrilled, but they understand. I’ve decided to stay until victory or death — whichever comes first,” he added.
Grabovyy described Sam as the latest batch of young Americans who came in recent months following the tumultuous period where President Trump appeared to be pulling support from Kyiv.
He said like him, the enlistees had Ukrainian heritage and wanted to do whatever they could to help during the stressful period, even if they had no previous combat skills.
“You’d be surprised how many are coming – hundreds and hundreds from all over the world. We’re getting a lot of young Americans, 18, 19, 20 years old,” Grabovvy said. “They think their government has abandoned Ukraine.”
And it’s not just Americans who are being drawn to the frontlines, a British enlistee, who identified himself as Garreth, said he left his job at the National Health Service in Wales to become an FPV drone pilot.
“I have an electronic engineering degree and the FPV electronic thing is what drew me here,” he told the UK outlet. “I can combine my sapper experience and electronic engineering skills; it’s an interesting time in warfare, and I’m a gamer.”
Those who pass the three-week selection course move onto a basic training course that lasts for twice as long, which is meant to weed out those who aren’t cut out for war.
“They needed help sorting the serious from the fantasists and war tourists,” American Shawn McVey said about the course he helped put together. “We give people the honest truth. If they’re not cut out for it, they’re out.”
