Front-line troops in Ukraine use e-cigs — but not how you think

He’s a tech tinkerer turned by war into an inventor of a critical item for the front lines — inspired by an addiction. 

In a country where it seems everyone is nervously smoking e-cigarettes, Anton — as he asked us to call him — is turning the habit into power. He takes the batteries from old e-cigarette modules and assembles them into pocketable power banks for soldiers who need to keep their phones charged.

Working out of his dining room workshop in Kyiv, Anton is emblematic of the resourcefulness and pluck that’s particularly present in Ukraine’s so-called "cyberpunk" community.  

Scripps News' Jason Bellini explains how it all began — nearly a year ago.