In brief: Ukraine’s use of battlefield drones increasingly focuses on the capacity to reduce the risk to its precious manpower rather than as simple killing machines. Their use for frontline logistics, defense of key sites, and casualty evacuation seems only limited by the imagination of the user.
The use of unmanned vehicles for offensive action, in the air, on land, and sea, both on the battlefield and against infrastructure has become the overriding feature of the war in Ukraine.
Drones of every shape, size, and type fill the skies above in the front lines and the cities of Ukraine and, increasingly Russia, with both sides trying to develop the ultimate attack weapon and countermeasures to them.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
However, some of the most important developments in the use of the technology is in the area of logistics support in all of its forms. Ukrainian designers, manufacturers, and soldiers, encouraged by Ukraine’s defense ministry and the Brave1 defense technology cluster and accelerator, are increasingly taking novel approaches to reduce the risk to military personnel on the battlefield.
Let’s look at two specific innovations.
Casualty evacuation using UAV’s
On Oct. 19 it was reported that a seriously wounded soldier Ukraine’s 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade was airlifted from the battlefield using a modified “Ayudag-6” hexacopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), adapted and provided by its manufacturer “Gurzuf Defense.”
The soldier, later named as Kostiantyn Vlasenko, had reportedly survived 491 days on a frontline position, unreachable by conventional means, during which he had amputated his own foot because of the severity of the injuries to his leg.
A short time prior to this “history making” evacuation, drone specialists of Ukraine’s 475th Separate Assault Regiment known by the callsign Code 9.2, started work on a purpose-built UAV-based casevac system in cooperation with the Ukrainian defense technology company “Skyfall,” following a 2025 request from the military.
37 Bodies Recovered, 59 Still Missing After Russian Bombing of Komyshuvakha School
The first of these, named StarGate, had been handed over to Code 9.2 for frontline testing according to an Oct. 16 report by Ukrainska Pravda.
The drone is said to be capable of carrying up to 150 kilograms (330 pounds) in its underslung “evacuation module,” a modified medical stretcher, at 150 kph (94 mph). StarGate includes artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced guidance, navigation, and communications systems that operate even in the densest electronic warfare environments.
It did not take long to prove the concept and its capability to fulfil its mission. Code 9.2 posted a video on Facebook at the end of October that detailed how its personnel, along with support from the manufacturer and other military units, were able to evacuate two seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield using StarGate in two separate missions.
The two soldiers were stranded in the so-called “gray zone” close to the Russian border, an area inaccessible to conventional methods of evacuation including unmanned ground vehicles (UGV). After a week’s planning and preparation the two young men were successfully returned to safety.
Ducks to water – amphibious UGVs
As Kyiv Post reported in December Ukraine’s defense forces were introducing a wide array of UGVs to support front line logistics and other high risk operations. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported in September that 2026 had seen almost exponential growth in the use of UGVs with more than 100,000 missions being recorded since the beginning of the year, a three-fold increase over 2025.
These “ground robots” have proved indispensable but a major shortcoming was identified by troops in the field – the inability of the UGVs to overcome many “water obstacles” including rivers, canals, marshes, and flooded areas.
While in some instances the use of load-carrying aerial drones could be used, these were often limited by the range and weight of equipment to be carried.
The ministry reported that for several months military units worked through Brave1 with manufacturers to develop UGVs that retained cross-country capabilities with the ability to rapidly deploy to cross water obstacles quickly.
It announced on Oct. 28 that the “Alter Ego” unit of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade successfully carried out the first-ever combat mission by an amphibious UGV. It said the machine was able to negotiate a route that took in more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) over land and water before delivering supplies and ammunition to combat positions.
Examples of the amphibious UGVs being brought into service to provide logistic support to the battlefield. (Photos: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.)
As a result of the operational effectiveness of the Alter Ego and other missions, the ministry reported the bringing into service of three amphibious UGVs as a solution to the water obstacle issue, with more planned for the near future. It added that detailed specifications of the new products were made available within the Brave1 Market website, for which military units could place orders.
Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.