'We can't do without them' - Ukraine's secret weapon against Russia revealed

When Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022, Zelensky famously quipped: I do not need a ride.

But now, more than four years later, that is exactly what his battle-hardened army needs - and they are getting them from an unlikely source.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R bills itself as "a first-person shooter survival horror video game" set in Ukraine's apocalyptic Chornobyl Zone.

More recently, the emblem of the game's sequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, can be seen emblazoned on the sides of drab green utility vans surviving the horrors of Ukraine's front lines.

"In this war, there are no safe spaces. All is in God's hands," said Volodymyr, a middle-aged Ukrainian infantryman who serves in a motorized rifle battalion.

He is one of 21 frontline soldiers who recently came to Kyiv to receive as many utility vans gifted to their units by MK Foundation, the charity arm of Ukrainian conglomerate MK Group, headed by businessman Maksim Kripa.

It is not the first such donation to the Ukrainian army by MK Group, and soldiers like Volodymyr hope it will not be the last, as the vehicles often don't last long themselves.

"Sometimes they go for a couple of months, sometimes for a couple of days," Volodymyr said.

His unit will mostly use them to transport personnel at a safe distance from the kill zone, where enemy drones routinely pick off armored vehicles and tanks.

Pasha, who serves in a Ukrainian drone unit, has also come to receive one of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. vehicles, which he and his comrades will use to set up drone launches along the front.

He said of the vehicles: "They are ideal for us. Just what we need. We cannot do without them."

In a war, dominated by overhead attacks, armored plating takes a back seat to speed and maneuverabilty.

"The main thing is maneuverability and a high clearance for rugged terrain," he said.

His unit, he added, will largely use the civilian utility vehicles as they are.

He said: "It's all about speed - in fast, out fast."

Andriy also serves in a Ukrainian drone unit - an attack drone unit that will refit the utility vans into mobile command centers for front-line drone attacks.

He said: "We do it ourselves. It takes about two weeks per vehicle."

Each dugout along the front lines is equipped with several drones for which they receive orders from mobile command centers to launch in lightening coordinated attacks, he explained.

"We spread the drones out to minimize the chances of their being hit."

It's a numbers game, and so far MK Group has been providing the numbers.

Alina, a spokesperson for the MK Foundation, said they have provided the Ukrainian army with 2,000 buses to date, in addition to speed boats, drones, generators and other badly needs equipment.

But mainly they supply S.T.A.L.K.E.R. buses.

"They use them for everything. There is a big need for them on the front line, and the military always ask us for them," she said.