Drone identifies and saves injured Ukrainian soldier after Russian ambush

A wounded Ukrainian warrior found himself in a bad spot, and with no way to get off a battlefield after his unit was attacked by Russian forces. Meanwhile, drones above scanned the field for intel and inspecting anything they saw. Dmytro had an idea: show his military ID to a passing drone, and hope it’s friendly so someone can send for help.

In a video shared by Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade, Dmytro tells his story of how he was found in a tree line by a Ukrainian drone and rescued.

After being engaged by Russian forces, Dmytro suffered five gunshot wounds and was unable to continue fighting. While his comrades fought back, Dmytro crawled to a safe location where he rendered aid to himself, and hoped for a miracle.

Drones, the biggest player on tech innovation for the war, have become a common item to see on Ukrainian battlefields. Both Ukraine and Russia use various off-the-shelf and custom-built drones from battlefield intelligence to dropping live grenades on the enemy.

Dmytro was hoping for a miracle, just maybe one of these drones would see him and send for help. When one of these drones did make its way towards him, he pulled out his military ID card to show that he is Ukrainian, and luckily the drone was friendly.

According to the video, an hour later a Bradley fighting vehicle, one of over 300 donated by the US, came by to rescue him.

The importance of drones and field intelligence

Like the Spanish Civil War that saw advancements in tank and paratroopers in combat, so is the Russo-Ukrainian War with innovation in drone and anti-satellite warfare.

Without drones, Dmytro’s survival would have been much less likely. Drones allow wartime commanders to survey and study the battlefield more regularly than aircraft or satellite images, allowing them to find both enemies to fight and friendlies that might need help.

They also have the ability to get much closer with their cameras, offering the higher resolution to read and recognize ID cards from their own military.

While we’ve focused a lot on the direct effect drones can have on warfare, dropping grenades or being suicide bombs, drones also have a more non-combative role. We’ve long known the role drones play in search and rescue off the battlefield, however Dmytro’s story shows the same need for drones on the battlefield.