VYLKOVE, Ukraine — In a town without basements, residents of Ukraine's "Venice" on the Danube have no way to hide underground from the increasingly frequent Russian drone attacks on the country's river and deep sea ports.

Vylkove, a small tourist and resort town, sits at the mouth of the Danube, and like in Italy's Venice, canals replace roads and boats replace cars for local residents.

The only way to avoid drone attacks is to shoot them down, say border guards, who are constantly training.

Ukraine has said Russia is deliberately hitting port infrastructure and commercial vessels in an effort to disrupt Ukrainian food exports, key to millions of people in northern Africa and the Middle East.

The attacks have intensified dramatically over the past week and Vylkove is often in the path of drones.

Pickup trucks with machine guns, assault rifles, searchlights and thermal imaging cameras help fight off attacks, said a former computer teacher, now a soldier with the call sign IT.

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