In an undulating expanse of grassland at the city limits, a pick-up truck kicks up dust as it hurtles downhill, its passengers belting out the theme to 1980s hit comedy "Police Academy". It's a Ukrainian military Mitsubishi L200 on the outskirts of Kyiv and it is chasing after a quadcopter surveillance drone, not bank robbers. The troops inside are in training to be the tip of the spear in Ukraine's drive to modernise its tactical response on the frontlines of its war with Russia, in a massive expanse of its drone fleet. One of Europe's poorest countries even before Moscow's invasion on February 24, Ukraine does not have an official drone unit and is relying on the patriotism and hard cash of its civilians for equipment and training. "Nowadays it's very important to have a drone in each battle unit because this is our eyes in the sky," says Lieutenant Anton Galyashinskiy, 40, an army expert in visual data analytics who is taking part in the exercise.