Heroic Ukrainian Drone Pilot Delivers Bread After 'Please, Bread' Snow Plea

A Ukrainian drone pilot of the Phoenix border-guard drone unit flying over the heavily damaged frontline city of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine spotted a message that stopped him mid-mission, according to the unit’s official account on January 19. “Please, bread,” it read. And the Ukrainian pilot resumed his mission to help a civilian immediately. The words were written in the snow and seen by 19-year-old pilot Maksym “Maliuk.” The message, the pilot later learned, had been written by an elderly local woman living in the war-scarred Kostiantynivka city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Maliuk said he watched from the air as she slowly traced the words into the snow. What followed, he explained in an exclusive comment, was not hesitation but a sense of obligation. “Whenever I see messages like this, I will always respond,” the Phoenix unit pilot said. “These are our people, and we are obligated to help them. We are here for them.” Kostiantynivka, located close to the active front line, has endured repeated Russian strikes that have left much of the city damaged and basic services disrupted. Civilians who remain often face severe shortages of food, heating, and medical care. For Ukrainian drone operators, missions usually involve surveillance, targeting, or reconnaissance. But moments like this, Maliuk said, are reminders of why they are there in the first place.