Ukraine’s military evacuates wounded soldier with aerial drone in apparent world-first

October 20, 2026 / 12:08 PM EDT / CBS News

Ukraine's military says it carried out a front-line medical evacuation by aerial drone — an apparent world-first for the drone-savvy nation — as Russia's full-scale invasion nears the five-year mark.

The Ukrainian Ground Forces' 92nd Assault Brigade said Monday that it had evacuated a wounded soldier from the front line using a heavy-lift aerial drone.

For almost 500 days, soldier Konstantyn Vlasenko of the 30th Separate Brigade was stuck in a position out of reach for Ukrainian ground forces or robots due to dense mining and heavy Russian drone activity, according to Ukrainian news outlets, including some linked with the military.

The reports said Vlasenko was wounded by a Russian drone earlier this year while trapped, forcing him to carry out partial self-amputations of both of his legs as he hoped for a rescue.

A Ukrainian-made Gurzuf Defence heavy hexacopter, originally configured as an attack drone to drop bombs on Russian positions, was used for the rescue operation — provided to the military free of charge, according to the statement from the 92nd Brigade.

Specialists worked with the company to modify the unmanned aircraft to carry a person without flipping…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/