Ukrainian troops have carried out the world’s first aerial evacuation of a wounded soldier directly from a front-line positio

The 92nd Separate Assault Brigade’s released footage of the operation on social media.

Specialists from the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade’s unmanned ground systems company, the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ Drone Forces and other units took part in the operation.

The need for an unconventional solution arose after an infantryman from the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade was wounded at his position.

Heavy Russian drone activity and mined terrain made evacuation by an unmanned ground vehicle impossible.

Specialists from the 92nd Brigade therefore took on a task they had never attempted before: evacuating a person by aerial drone.

They used a heavy hexacopter supplied for the operation by Ukrainian manufacturer Gurzuf Defence.

Working with the manufacturer, the troops developed a technical solution that allowed the heavy drone to carry the wounded soldier while remaining stable in flight, preventing it from tipping over or swaying excessively. Before the mission, specialists conducted tests at Gurzuf Defence’s facilities and planned the operation together with neighbouring units.

A UAV operator from the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade piloted the drone. The evacuation was successful, and the wounded soldier was rescued.

He is now undergoing treatment and rehabilitation. His life is no longer in danger.

The operation brought together the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade, the 30th and 14th Separate Mechanised Brigades, the 10th Army Corps and Gurzuf Defence.

The mission demonstrated new possibilities for using unmanned systems to rescue service personnel when conventional evacuation methods are unavailable.