Rusty tanks, lying piled one on top of another, stretch on for nearly a quarter of a mile. The machines’ tracks, if they have any, are orange with corrosion. The armor is twisted and torn in places. Some have small trees and other vegetation sprouting incongruously from their decaying bodies.Most of the dozens upon dozens of tanks here are T-64s – the aging Soviet stalwart that is the current workhorse of the Ukrainian army, but one can encounter T-62s and T-72s as well.

The story of how these tanks got here is one of war, waste and corruption. But it might also offer a little hope for the future.