(NewsNation) — Ukrainian civilians are building drones domestically to help defend their country, as slow arms deliveries from Western allies have left the country vulnerable to attacks by the Russian military.

Ordinary citizens of Ukraine who participated in the assembly of these drones spoke exclusively to NewsNation and said this was their way of The country’s war effort.

“I’m doing this for myself, for my family and for my children because I want my daughter to play in the sunshine and not in a bomb shelter,” says Solomiia, a Ukrainian mother who works as a pianist. “I’ve assembled eight drones so far. I’ve received money for about six drones.”

Solomiia is one of thousands of working Ukrainians who build drones at their dining room tables late into the night, after their children have gone to bed.

As the war in Ukraine has now been going on for two and a half years, good weapons are just as valuable as good news from the front. Since arms deliveries from the West depend on on political issuesUkraine is asking its citizens for help.

Civilian drone construction is made possible through support from Social Drone UA, a private online group that trains, raises funds, and supplies civilians with components to build low-tech devices that have a big impact on the battlefield.

Andrew Radchenko and Valeriia Ardykutsa put their lives as newlyweds on hold when Russia invaded Ukraine almost took Kiev two years ago. Now they have a side income they could never have imagined.

“They provide all stages of development, from instructions on how to assemble drones in text and video form to hardware and software,” Radchenko told NewsNation, adding that they provide pilots for a testing phase. “These pilots fly this drone in special environments and try to overcome all possible problems before handing it over to the armed forces.”

After a year and a half, Radchenko is on his 37th drone.

Ukrainian pilots use the devices for weaponsSurveillance and even destruction of Russian vehicles worth millions of dollars. Each civilian-built drone saves the government hundreds of euros per device.

“I would say that Social Drone currently works with about 6,000 members. You feel like you are part of the victory, you are supporting our forces, you are protecting children, women, grandparents and that is a really good feeling,” Radchenko said.

Now the production of these drones is being ramped up. Social Drone UA initially delivered about five drones per week to the military. Now it is around 2,000 drones per month. But that is still only a fraction of what Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine produces.

According to reports, the Kremlin Manufacturing Tens of thousands of devices per month.

“Honestly, it’s not enough. It’s huge, but it’s not enough,” Radchenko told NewsNation.

President Volodymyr Selensky warned on Sunday that Russia Preparing for intensification its offensive along Ukraine’s northern border, while the death toll from a bomb attack on a large building materials store in the city of Kharkiv rose to 14.

In the bomb attack on Kharkiv on Saturday afternoon, 43 people were injured and 16 missing, said Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

In a video message from Kharkiv, Zelensky said Russia was preparing an offensive 90 kilometers northwest of Ukraine’s second-largest city.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.