Ukraine claims first drone evacuation of wounded soldier

Ukraine has shared a video showing what it says is the world’s first evacuation of an injured soldier from the front lines by drone. The “historic” mission comes just as Kyiv faces a dire turn in its relationship with Washington over the withdrawal of support in its fight against Russia. Shared by the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade on Monday, the video shows the soldier strapping himself into a large drone and being flown at what appears to be relatively low altitude over blurred-out territory. The drone carefully lowers him, and the drone operator greets him with “Welcome back to the ground!” The video also shows blurred faces of drone operators who carried out the mission. The post said the unidentified infantryman was wounded at his position. “Due to intense enemy drone activity and the presence of landmines, evacuation using conventional unmanned ground vehicles was impossible,” the brigade said.