Ukraine Conducts First Drone Airlift of Wounded Soldier

Source reports published 19 Oct 2026, 10:00 am – 20 Oct 2026, 6:00 am AEST

Ukrainian forces utilized a hexacopter drone to evacuate an injured soldier from the front line. This marked the first reported instance of an aerial drone being used for this specific battlefield operation.

What happened

• The 92nd Separate Assault Brigade conducted an operation to evacuate an injured soldier from a combat position.
• The soldier, who had been in a hazardous position for over a year and a half, was unable to be reached by conventional means due to the presence of landmines and intense Russian drone activity.
• A hexacopter, manufactured by Gurzuf Defence, an Ayudag-6 model, was deployed to perform the airlift.
• The drone maintained stability during the ‘very difficult’ operation, bringing the wounded soldier to a safer location where he was met by comrades and subsequently evacuated to a hospital.
• The 92nd Assault Brigade described the operation as a ‘world first’.

Original reporting

• Al Jazeera: Injured Ukrainian soldier rescued in first-ever drone evacuation mission
  2026-10-19T00:00:00+00:00
• France 24 English: Ukraine deploys drone to airlift wounded soldier in 'world-first' operation
  2026-10-19T15:44:42+00:00
• BBC: Ukraine says it carried out first drone airlift of wounded soldier from front line
  2026-10-19T20:00:43.056000+00:00