# Ukraine evacuates wounded soldier by combat drone

> Ukrainian forces used a modified heavy-lift drone to rescue a soldier trapped for 500 days in a minefield, in what appears to be the first aerial medical evacuation of its kind.
- Title: Ukraine evacuates wounded soldier by combat drone · CBS News
- Summary: Ukrainian forces used a modified heavy-lift drone to rescue a soldier trapped for 500 days in a minefield, in what appears to be the first aerial medical…
- Keywords: ukraine, military, drone evacuation, 92nd assault brigade, gurzuf defence, konstantyn vlasenko, russia invasion, news, evacuates, wounded, soldier, combat
- Source: CBS News — https://cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-evacuation-soldier-aerial-drone-apparent-world-first
- Author: Mariia  Kashchenko
- Published: 2026-10-20T16:08:32+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ukraine, military, drone evacuation, 92nd assault brigade, gurzuf defence, konstantyn vlasenko, russia invasion, news
## Soldier trapped for 500 days
Konstantyn Vlasenko of the 30th Separate Brigade was stuck in a front-line position for almost 500 days, unreachable due to dense mining and heavy Russian drone activity.
## Drone rescue takes seven days to plan
The Ukrainian Ground Forces' 92nd Assault Brigade used a modified Gurzuf Defence heavy hexacopter to evacuate Vlasenko.
## Drone flew almost 40 miles
The modified attack drone flew almost 40 miles to reach Vlasenko, with Ukrainian units using other drones to distract Russian forces during the operation. The company provided the aircraft free of charge.
## Aerial evacuation not routine practice
Gurzuf Defence co-founder Pavlo Feldbloom told CBS News that aerial evacuation will not become routine because the risks to a wounded person in the air are too high. It is a last resort only.

> Aerial transport is the last resort, an option to be used only when there is no other way to save a person's life.
## Key takeaway

Ukraine's 92nd Assault Brigade evacuated a wounded soldier from the front line using a modified Gurzuf Defence heavy hexacopter, marking an apparent world-first in drone-based medical rescue.