Ukrainian soldier with severe leg injury evacuated by heavy-lift drone

A Ukrainian soldier, Artem Lytvyn, was rescued by a heavy-lift drone after being stranded for several days with a severe leg injury. The operation highlights Ukraine’s use of aerial drones to evacuate critically wounded troops from locations that ground teams cannot safely reach.

Lytvyn had stepped on a magnetic mine while escorting another soldier and amputated his own leg, according to former deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko. He crawled into a protective stretcher and was flown to safety in about 30 minutes; within two hours he had reached a stabilisation point. It was the fourth aerial evacuation of a severely wounded soldier by the Code 9.2 regiment, which is establishing a dedicated drone evacuation unit.