The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the launch of an experimental project under which unmanned aerial vehicles will deliver medicines, donor organs, and other medical cargo between hospitals. This was announced by Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky in his Facebook account, as reported by RBC-Ukraine. According to the head of government, the project aims to solve one of the most acute problems of medical logistics in wartime, when cargo transportation by land transport often takes critically long.
First Site and Technical Characteristics
The first site for the project will be the Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. According to Koretsky's statement, the institution already has three specialized drones capable of covering distances of up to 700 kilometers and landing at designated hospital sites. The availability of ready equipment makes it possible to launch the experimental phase without additional procurement and immediately move on to practicing routes and delivery protocols.
Coordination with the Military and Status of Drones
All flights of medical drones will be coordinated with military structures. The drones will receive a special status and will be identified in airspace, eliminating cross-identification with combat or civilian aircraft. In addition, the possibility of landing at reserve points in the event of an air raid alert is provided, which ensures the continuity of the supply chain even in conditions of intensified hostilities.
Strategic Goal: National Flight Management System
Based on the experimental project, the Cabinet of Ministers plans to form a Ukrainian flight management system for civil drones and develop a set of rules for their safe use. This means that medical drone delivery is viewed not as a one-time initiative, but as a pilot to create a full-fledged air logistics infrastructure that could potentially be expanded to other categories of cargo and routes.
Why Transplantation and Remote Areas
Serhiy Koretsky emphasized that in wartime and difficult road conditions, transporting medical cargo by cars takes time, which is often decisive for saving a patient's life. "This is especially true for transplantation, where delivery speed is crucial. Drones will be able to deliver medicines, medical devices, blood samples for testing, and donor organs faster between hospitals, including from remote areas," the Prime Minister noted. Thus, the project aims to reduce the so-called "cold time" during organ transportation and ensure access to medicines in settlements where land transport may not arrive on time.
Context: Drones Already Used for Humanitarian Purposes
The medical delivery project is not the first use of drones for logistics purposes in Ukraine. In late September 2026, drones were used to deliver several tons of humanitarian aid to the temporarily occupied Oleshky in the Kherson region, where local residents received food. The experience gained during these operations essentially became a practical prerequisite for the Cabinet's decision to launch a specialized medical direction.
