Near Vovchansk, Captured Russian Forced to Retrieve Fallen Ukrainian Soldier's Body: How Drones Were Used

The "Volia" battalion of the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade has published a video of a unique operation to evacuate the body of a fallen Ukrainian soldier near Vovchansk. According to RBC-Ukraine, the military used a captured Russian serviceman to carry the body out of the danger zone. According to the fighters, the operation lasted almost a day and required coordinated actions across several units.

Why the Evacuation Was Difficult

The battalion explained that the body of their fellow soldier was located in an area where sending out an evacuation team was extremely dangerous due to the enemy's presence. That is why the command chose an unconventional method: instead of sending a live team into the risk zone, it was decided to involve a prisoner. "Returning a fallen warrior is our duty to him and his family so that loved ones can say goodbye and bury him with honors as a hero," the Volia battalion stated.

How the Drones Operated

According to the description of the operation, the Russian serviceman was first captured using a Mavic drone equipped with a loudspeaker. The prisoner was then led to the spot where the body of the fallen Ukrainian fighter lay. After that, a Vampire drone dropped evacuation stretchers to him, which he used to carry the body out of the danger zone. The battalion emphasized that returning a single fallen soldier involved "the joint work of drone crews, command, the evacuation team, and infantrymen."

Broader Context: ISW Data

Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) previously reported on the progress of other operations. According to analysts, as part of Operation Veles, Ukraine's Defense Forces stopped Russian attempts to gain a foothold in the northern part of Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast. Separately, ISW reported that during Operation Vivaldi, the Ukrainian military inflicted significant damage on Russia's 144th Motorized Rifle Division, which, according to analysts' estimates, effectively ceased to exist as an organized combat formation. These reports are not directly related to the Vovchansk operation, but they provide an overview of the general frontline dynamics at the time of publication.

The video published by the battalion is the only public confirmation of the described sequence of actions. Independent verification of the operation's details—including the fact of capture and the dropping of stretchers by drones—had not been conducted at the time of publication.