Kyiv (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Ukraine used an armoured ground robot to rescue a soldier trapped 33 days behind enemy lines, highlighting the military’s rising dependence on frontline robotics.
As reported by The Telegraph, a Ukrainian soldier spent 33 days trapped behind enemy lines, kept alive by a single tourniquet after a landmine blast destroyed his foot.
How did an armoured drone rescue a Ukrainian soldier behind enemy lines?
All six earlier missions failed, with evacuation vehicles wiped out in the “kill zone,” where mines and drones leave almost no chance of moving undetected.
On its seventh attempt, an armoured drone navigated 40 miles along enemy lines, slowed by a damaged wheel, but completed its nearly six-hour mission successfully.
Ukraine’s First Separate Medical Battalion, which carried out the rescue, said,
“If the soldier didn’t give up, neither could we.”
The footage showed the armored off-road robot moving through Russian territory under fire.
The operation highlights rapid robotic advances at the front, while showing how front lines have widened into dangerous, drone-controlled zones.
Soldiers and units are frequently trapped as drones block resupply and movement across a wide area.
Volodymyr Koval from the First Medical Battalion said,
“The area is what we call a kill zone, with a very high density of enemy drones in the air, numerous mines and obstacles, and waiting drones – drones lying in ambush on the ground, waiting for movement.”
He stated,
“The mine blast occurred en route to the wounded soldier. One of the wheels was damaged, but the drone remained operational and continued the mission.”
Mr Koval added,
“The UAV strike happened on the return leg – on the way back to the handover point where the medevac [medical evacuation] crew was waiting. The wounded soldier was unharmed [by the drone attack], as he was inside an armoured capsule.”
He continued,
“The mission involved dozens of people – pilots, navigators, the planning group, drone operators providing overwatch, specialists from supporting units, and the medical evacuation team that was waiting to receive the wounded soldier.”
Mr Koval added,
“Almost the entire front line is under constant aerial surveillance and control.”
Ukraine’s First Medical Battalion created the MAUL drone to evacuate wounded soldiers from front-line positions too dangerous for medics.
The armoured drone, riding on an ATV frame, navigated mine-laden roads under constant aerial observation.
During the mission, the vehicle struck a mine, damaging a wheel, but reached the soldier, who entered the armoured capsule and secured himself inside.
The vehicle faced an enemy strike, but the armoured shell kept the soldier safe from harm.
The wounded soldier was removed from the capsule, his clothing and 33-day-old tourniquet taken off. He has since undergone a limb amputation and is now in rehabilitation in Kyiv.
The MAUL, deployed in the rescue, was initially developed by Ukraine’s First Medical Battalion. It is engine-powered and capable of speeds reaching 43mph.
Ukrainian defence company DevDroid has taken over production, selling each unit for around $19,000.
What did Volodymyr Zelensky say about expanding drone and UGV use?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the successful mission and pledged to increase UGV deployments to aid troops in danger.
He added,
“We will scale up exactly this kind of technological backbone for our army – more ground robotic systems operating at the front, more drones of all types, and increased deliveries of modern solutions that help achieve results in combat, in providing supplies for our combat units, and in evacuating our wounded warriors.”
How did Alex describe the danger drones pose to evacuations?
Alex, working as a foreign medic in Zaporizhzhia, said evacuating injured soldiers now takes days instead of hours.
He stated,
“The process of moving a patient from the point of injury to a medic, then to a stabilisation point, a hospital, and finally one of the larger city facilities, has become incredibly difficult.”
Alex stated, “Right now, it’s virtually impossible to get within 20 to 25 kilometres of the zero line unless you’re in a vehicle equipped with a drone jammer. Most ambulances don’t have drone jammers, and hospital vehicles won’t go closer than about 30 kilometres, because it’s simply too dangerous.”
He added,
“If there are drones in the air, it’s extremely dangerous for any vehicle to move in, or for soldiers to carry a wounded comrade on foot, because they become easy, slow-moving targets. It’s simply too dangerous – if you step out into the open, you will be killed by a drone. That’s not an exaggeration.”
How is Ukraine using drone points to boost military firepower?
Ukrainian forces are using drone attacks in a competitive system to earn points redeemable for new weapons.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said the video game-style rewards system has gained popularity among units. Launched a year ago, it now covers reconnaissance, artillery, and logistics operations.
He stated,
“It’s become truly popular among units. All the defence forces know about this and there’s competition for the points, for getting these drones, electronic warfare systems and other things to help them in warfighting.”
Mr Fedorov said Ukraine is using a points system to track enemy casualties and boost military “effectiveness.”
The deputy prime minister added,
“We’re at war for four years in a row, and it is hard. We’re just finding ways to be more effective. We’re thinking of this as just part of our everyday job. There’s little to no emotional reflection here. It feels like just technical work.”
He continued,
“Because if you don’t stop the enemy, he will kill your servicemen and after the servicemen are dead, he’s going to come to a city and he’s going to conquer, raze and kill civilians.”
When did the Ukraine-Russia war start, and how many have died?
The Ukraine-Russia war started with Russia’s covert invasion and annexation of Crimea in February 2014, escalating to a full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.
Ukrainian casualties include over 13,000 civilian deaths recorded by the UN since 2022, and total Ukrainian deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands.
