• Photos show Ukrainian forces mounted WWI-era machine guns on a pickup truck. 
  • One video captures the moment troops used the antique guns to fire at what appear to be modern drones.
  • Ukraine and Russia have brought back old weapons in this brutal 21st century war. 

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly put machine guns with a history dating back to just before World War I into action in their war against Russia. New photos show a pair of the guns mounted onto a pickup truck while a video shows Ukrainians firing them at what observers suspect are Russian drones.

It's the latest example of Ukraine creating unconventional weapons by jury-rigging older systems or throwing pieces of equipment together. In this case, its forces are apparently using a gun designed over 100 years ago to take down a threat that's shaping modern warfare. 

Over the weekend, Ukraine's 118th Territorial Defense Brigade posted a handful of photos of troops aiming and firing what open-source intelligence accounts identified as twin PM1910 machine guns, a derivative of the original Maxim gun, that had been mounted on a ZAZ Tavria pickup truck.

The PM1910 was first introduced a few years before the outbreak of World War I and used by the Imperial Russian Army. It saw further use in later wars.

The photos of the unusual technical, as setups like this are called, were shared on social media websites by OSINT accounts. Other photos shared by the 118th Territorial Defense Brigade on Facebook showed the guns being fired, as well as troops aiming the gun and holding a belt of ammunition. 

But perhaps the best visual is a video of the weapon in action. The footage shows Ukrainian troops shooting at suspected drones in the sky, aiming the machine guns and firing from the pickup. 

This is far from the first time that Ukraine has used the PM1910 Maxim gun in the war.

Though both sides have employed the guns, often equipping them with improved sights and other modifications to better hit moving and modern targets, Ukraine's been using them since as early as 2016.

Ukraine's use of what looked like an unmodified Maxim in the battle of Bakhmut earlier this year garnered significant attention and suggested the weapon remained a staple for its easy use, potential for convenient modifications, and potential to fire pretty much indefinitely so long as its given a constant stream of ammo and kept water-cooled. 

Ukraine has also made other jury-rigged and makeshift weapons to fight off the Russians, such as mobile rocket artillery systems made from busted vehicles and scrapped parts. 

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