Ukrainian forces have for the first time lifted a wounded soldier out of a position in the Kupiansk sector with the heavy Ayudag-6 hexacopter. He is now being treated in Kharkiv.
Ukrainian forces have for the first time evacuated a wounded soldier from the front line using a heavy-lift drone. The 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade published video of the operation on 19 October, and a military hospital in Kharkiv later shared the details. Volunteers Support Ukraine notes this as a rare piece of good news from the front, where technology helped save a human life.
Kostiantyn, 49, was serving at an observation post in the Kupiansk sector. After russian drones killed his comrade, he was left alone at the position with wounds to both legs. Attempts to bring him out over land, including with unmanned ground vehicles, failed. In the meantime, drones dropped him medicine, food and water.
The soldier was lifted out by a Ukrainian-made Heavy Shot Ayudag-6 hexacopter modified by Gurzuf Defense. The hospital describes it as the first aerial evacuation of a wounded soldier from the battlefield in this war. Several brigades took part, including the 92nd and the 14th Mechanized, along with the Unmanned Systems Forces, artillery, electronic warfare and air defense units. Artem Bohomolov, commander of the 10th Army Corps, said the planning was long and meticulous.
Doctors say he has undergone several operations and now faces prosthetic fitting, rehabilitation and psychological support. According to the 30th Brigade, his life is no longer in danger. Volunteers Support Ukraine continues to help people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow.
Ground evacuation near the line of contact is increasingly dangerous because of drones and mines, so new ways of saving the wounded matter. Pavlo Feldblium, co-founder of Gurzuf Defense, told the Kyiv Independent that aerial evacuation should remain a last resort.
