Ukrainian forces used an aerial drone to lift a wounded soldier from the front lines in what the military says was the world’s first such battlefield rescue, newly released footage shows.
The footage, shared Monday by Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault Brigade, shows the wounded soldier securing himself to a large drone before being lifted into the air and transported over blurred-out terrain, according to NBC News.
The drone lowers him to the ground, where an operator greets him with, “Welcome back to the ground!” The video also blurs the faces of the operators involved in the mission, the outlet reported.
The unidentified infantryman had been wounded at his position before the rescue, according to the brigade.
“Due to intense enemy drone activity and the presence of landmines, evacuation using conventional unmanned ground vehicles was impossible,” the brigade said. “At that point, the specialists in our unit took it upon themselves to attempt something that had never been done before: evacuating a serviceman using an aerial drone.”
The footage was released as Russia floated a possible summit with the United States and China to discuss ending the war without Ukraine at the table.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the meeting with President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping during an October 9 phone call with Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Kremlin wants to hold the talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, on November 18 and 19.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Monday that a meeting had been discussed but said nothing was certain yet. A senior U.S. official said Trump had not agreed to attend but could be open to it, The Daily Wire reported.
Almost immediately, Kyiv objected. Ukraine’s top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, blasted the idea of peace talks without Ukraine, warning it would only embolden Putin.
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