Ukraine evacuates wounded soldier from Kharkiv front line by drone
A hexacopter drone lifted a wounded infantryman out of a minefield near Kharkiv after Russian drone activity ruled out a conventional rescue, his brigade said.
Ukraine's 92nd Separate Assault Brigade has released footage of what it says is the first evacuation of a wounded soldier from the front line by an aerial drone. The soldier, known by the nickname Kostya, was injured at a position in the Kharkiv region where mines and Russian drone activity made a conventional evacuation impossible, the brigade's drone unit said, according to Euronews.
Footage shows the soldier strapping himself into a climbing harness attached to a large hexacopter drone, which lifts him away from the position and flies him to a landing point, Euronews reported. Soldiers in a control room are seen applauding once he is safely on the ground.
The drone, known as Heavy Shot and built by Ukrainian manufacturer Gurzuf Defence, can lift up to 20 stone, a Ukrainian record, according to the Daily Mirror. Kostya weighs roughly 12.5 stone. The flight covered 62 kilometres and lasted one hour and 14 minutes, the manufacturer said, according to Blick, citing Focus.
A pilot from the 30th Mechanised Brigade controlled the drone from around 15 miles away, the Daily Mirror reported. Smaller escort drones accompanied the aircraft, including quadcopters fitted with drop nets intended to intercept any attacking Russian drones, the Mirror said.
The brigade's drone unit commander, using the callsign Napalm, called the operation "a historic event" that marks a new stage in evacuating the wounded, according to the Daily Mirror. He said the systematic work of making such missions routine was only beginning.
Kostya is now receiving medical treatment and rehabilitation, Blick reported. Gurzuf Defence warned that aerial evacuation carries risks for wounded soldiers left exposed in the air during the flight and said it should remain a last resort when other rescue options are ruled out, according to Blick.
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What we know
- Official · 92nd Separate Assault Brigade Ukraine's 92nd Separate Assault Brigade says it carried out the first known aerial drone evacuation of a wounded soldier from the front line, in the Kharkiv region.
- Official · 92nd Assault Brigade drone unit The soldier, known as Kostya, could not be evacuated conventionally because of mines and Russian drone activity at his position.
- 1 outlet · Daily Mirror A Heavy Shot hexacopter drone, built by Gurzuf Defence and able to lift up to 20 stone, carried him 62 kilometres over about 74 minutes to safety.
- 1 outlet · Daily Mirror The drone was piloted remotely by an operator from the 30th Mechanised Brigade, with smaller drones escorting the mission.
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Figure history
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Why it matters for Europe
Ukrainian forces have increasingly used ground drones to pull wounded soldiers from front-line positions this year, including rescues reported near Pokrovsk and elsewhere, as landmines and swarms of Russian attack drones make conventional stretcher evacuations more dangerous. An aerial evacuation adds a new option where ground routes are blocked entirely, though the manufacturer's own warning about the risks of flying wounded soldiers exposed in the open suggests it will stay a rare, last-resort measure rather than a routine one.
Sources
Reported by 5 reports from 5 independent outlets in 1 countries.
- Daily Mirror: Injured Ukrainain soldier airlifted to safety by drone from Russia frontline in first of its kind evacuation
- Blick: Verwundeter Soldat mit Drohne aus Minenfeld in der Ukraine geflogen
- Euronews: Ukraine carries out first drone airlift of wounded soldier from front line
- CNN: Ukraine carries out ‘first’ successful drone rescue from the front line
- Daily Mail: Ukraine carries out first ever aerial drone evacuation of a wounded soldier from the frontline
Source balance
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Questions and answers
- How was the wounded soldier evacuated?
- A large hexacopter drone called Heavy Shot lifted him on a climbing harness and flew him 62 kilometres to safety, escorted by smaller drones, Ukraine's 92nd Assault Brigade said.
- Why could he not be rescued by land?
- Mines and Russian drone activity at his position in the Kharkiv region made a conventional ground evacuation impossible, the brigade's drone unit said.
- Has this been done before?
- The brigade described it as the first evacuation of its kind by aerial drone, though Ukrainian forces have used ground drones to rescue wounded soldiers in earlier incidents this year.
This article was written with AI assistance from 5 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.