Canadian drone hardware and software solution specialist Draganfly has moved quickly to adapt the activity of its transport and situational awareness UAVs in Ukraine to provide emergency aerial support of efforts to rescue flooding victims in Kherson.
Draganfly said its drones – which have already been operation for months assisting Ukraine’s defense forces, medical units, and humanitarian organizations respond to Russian attacks – were spirited to the south of the nation to assist victims of the massive flooding. The crisis was sparked on June 6 when destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson left an estimated 230 square miles of populated land under water.
Read: Draganfly delivers situational awareness drones to Ukraine emergency responders
Supporting the response to the ensuing calamity, Draganfly and its local DEF-C partner acted on requests by Ukraine’s DSNS Emergency Services Department by redeploying their specialized Situational Assessment Drones to the area to assist with provision and rescue of victims. According to the United Nations, at least 180,000 people have been trapped, stranded, or left homeless by the flooding.
No one has claimed responsibility for causing the dam to collapse, but with Ukraine having no apparent reason for provoking yet another emergency to complicate its defense efforts, most suspicions have fallen on Russia.
In response to that destruction, Draganfly drones flew an immediate 15 flights covering 660 acres, and provided situational awareness and reconnaissance assistance to groups aiding Ukraine’s flood victims.
Draganfly tech and advisors – all which continue those operations – contributed precious additional aid by repositioning their previous work in Ukraine’s demining efforts to the Kherson area.
Russian forces are known to have heavily seeded the region with deadly underground explosives. Many of those are now believed to have been unearthed and redeposited by floodwaters, increasing the peril to victims and other residents.
Read: Draganfly’s drone test center to focus first on Ukraine de-mining activity
Cameron Chell, CEO of Saskatchewan-based Draganfly, said the swift adaptation of company tech and support staff in response to the flooding provided the company another opportunity to reinforce its support of Ukraine’s efforts to defend its territory and people.
“Draganfly is proud to assist the communities in the Kherson region,” Chell said. “The recent Kakhovka dam flooding has created a pressing need for aid in the region as it relates to safe evacuation, flood management, and assistance with mine location assessments as flooding has caused the displacement of land mines.”
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