Ukraine Uses Heavy-Lift Drone To Evacuate Wounded Soldier From Front Line
Ukraine's 92nd Assault Brigade says it used a heavy-lift aerial drone to evacuate a wounded soldier from a front-line position on Monday, October 19, 2026, in a life-saving medevac operation.[1]
The soldier, Konstantyn Vlasenko, had been trapped for almost 500 days.[1] He had carried out partial self-amputations of both legs while isolated in an area that was too heavily mined and exposed to Russian drones for ground or robotic rescue.[1]
A modified Ukrainian-made Gurzuf Defence hexacopter flew nearly 40 miles in about 1 hour 15 minutes to carry out the extraction.[1] Four brigades coordinated the mission and other drones were used to distract Russian forces during the operation.[1]
Gurzuf Defence co-founder Pavlo Feldbloom said the platform was adapted for medevac but stressed aerial evacuations should be reserved as a last-resort life-saving option.[1]
Show source details & analysis (1 source)
📌 Key Facts
- On Monday, October 19, 2026, Ukraine's 92nd Assault Brigade disclosed it had evacuated soldier Konstantyn Vlasenko by heavy-lift aerial drone from a front-line position.
- Vlasenko had been trapped for almost 500 days in an area too heavily mined and exposed to Russian drones for ground or robotic rescue and had carried out partial self-amputations of both legs.
- A modified Ukrainian-made Gurzuf Defence hexacopter flew nearly 40 miles in about 1 hour 15 minutes, with four brigades coordinating the mission and other drones used to distract Russian forces.
- Gurzuf Defence co-founder Pavlo Feldbloom said the multi-mission platform was adapted for medevac but emphasized that aerial evacuations should be used only as a last-resort life-saving option.
📰 Source Timeline (1)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time