Full Breakdown
Ukrainian Farmers Keep Fields Working Amid Drone Strikes and Mines in Sumy Region
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: Drone and Mine Attacks Threaten Agriculture
On the night of August 24, a jet-powered Shahed drone struck a grain store on a farm near Sumy, destroying the building and scattering metal debris across the field. In the same period, FPV (first-person view) drones have repeatedly targeted tractors, sheds and storage facilities across the region. Mines hidden in fields have blown up tractors, and a combine was hit by an FPV drone. Despite these hazards, farmers continue to sow, harvest and transport grain, often working with equipment fitted with drone detectors and keeping generators on standby.
Background & Context
Since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022, Sumy’s agricultural sector has operated under constant threat from aerial attacks and ground explosives. That call to persist has shaped the response of multiple farms that now balance crop cycles with security measures.
Data & Statistics
- Tamara Kabliuk’s farm: ~170 ha of wheat, peas, sunflowers and corn; four drone strikes recorded, the latest on August 24.
- Volodymyr Karpenko’s farm: ~1,000 ha, employs 12 workers; lost six vehicles to direct drone hits and five sheds were damaged.
- Yevhenii Fintsev’s farm: expanded from 25 ha to 600 ha; 150 ha remain inaccessible after drones circled the Seim River.
- Oleksandr Mishchenko’s farm: uses polymer sleeves for distributed grain storage after two Shahed drones and a missile destroyed earlier storage buildings.
- Volodymyr Romanenko: tractor struck a mine, resulting in concussion and ongoing headaches; he has worked on his family farm for 11 years.
Official Statements & Responses
Karpenko has equipped his farm with multiple drone detectors and distributed 14 two-way radios to neighbors, creating a rapid-alert network for incoming threats. He emphasizes a moral duty to the community that shared land with him during difficult times, stating he cannot abandon them. Mishchenko reports that solar panels, inverters and generators now power his operations, allowing work to continue as long as fuel is available. Romanenko, despite his mine injury, insists he will remain on the farm, questioning where else he could go. Kabliuk’s husband, Anatolii, now retired, recalls urging fellow farmers during the invasion’s outset to keep sowing to prevent food shortages.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I can’t leave them. They didn’t leave me when things were tough for me. Now I can’t leave them, because they haven’t left either,” — Volodymyr Karpenko
- “We can function as long as we have fuel,” — Oleksandr Mishchenko
Why It Matters
The continued cultivation of Sumy’s fields sustains regional grain output, a critical component of Ukraine’s food-security strategy. Repeated destruction of storage facilities forces farmers to adopt dispersed storage solutions, increasing logistical complexity and cost. Equipment losses and the need for constant vigilance also raise operational expenses, threatening the economic viability of small-scale farms that have been family-run for decades.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The article provides a single set of figures for vehicle losses, shed damage and farm sizes; no alternative counts are presented, and no independent verification of the exact number of drone strikes is available. Further data on overall regional grain yields after the August 24 attacks remain absent.