New frontiers were recently broken by Ukrainian troops in their campaign against Russia as they successfully delivered an e-bike to their wounded soldier to escape from Russian troops.
Drones have been an important tool in the war between the two countries. They were deployed by Ukraine for bombing operations.
But for the first time, Ukraine turned to technology to save its soldiers who fell behind enemy lines.
The wounded soldier lost three of his colleagues in the operation in Siversk, northern Ukraine. He consequently had to hold his position single-handed.
His brigade could not go back for him without endangering their lives, as he was encircled by enemy soldiers.
If he could cover a distance of 1.5 kilometres, he would get to safety in the company of his brigade.
However, he was wounded on the legs and could not walk that long a distance.
His team then came up with a plan to deliver an e-bike for him to cover the necessary distance.
A video released by the Rubizh brigade of Ukraine’s national guard shows the moment a powerful drone carried a 40-kilogram e-bike to the stranded soldier.
The equipment enabled him to quietly escape from the entrapment of Russian forces.
In the video shared by Ukraine on Wednesday, Mykola Hrytsenko explained how difficult the situation was.
He said with his team member surrounded, they had to come up with an evacuation plan that involved deploying heavy-duty drones to carry the bicycle to his position.
Hrytsenko, who acts as Chief of Staff of the brigade, further explained that they had put the unmanned aerial vehicles to bombing use before then.
But they figured it could deliver the bicycle because of its capacity to lift heavy cargo.
According to him, it did not go pretty at first, as one of the first two drones was shot down by the enemy.
The second reportedly crashed after its motors overheated and burned.
The third attempt succeeded, and the stranded soldier was able to reunite with his team.
The video also showed the exhausted soldier speaking about his ordeal and how he escaped.
It would be recalled that Ukraine last week rained bombs on Moscow’s four airports using drones.
The operation disrupted hundreds of flights in the capital city of Russia.
Russian air defences claimed they successfully intercepted some of the incoming drones in Zelenograd, northwest of the Kremlin.
They also claimed to have neutralised 93 Ukrainian drones, 19 of which were allegedly targeted at Moscow.
See the delivery of the e-bike by a drone here.
