Drone footage posted on the Telegram channel of the State Border Service of Ukraine showed how aerial scouts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) assisted in evacuating wounded Ukrainian border guard, Serhiy Kupin.
Serhiy Kupin sustained injuries during a battle in the Svatove area of the Luhansk region. Reflecting on the ordeal, Kupin recounted, “When the first (Russian) drone ‘worked’ on us, I was hit in the back. I jumped up and realized that my leg was wounded. One of the servicemen who was with me helped me and put a tourniquet on me.”
Being close to Russian positions, Kupin's movement was severely restricted.
However, aerial reconnaissance from the 68th separate hunting brigade, named after Oleksa Dovbush, located him. The AFU air scout with the call sign “Lug” explained: “On one side, about a hundred meters to the Russian positions, and on the other side, 200-300. It was impossible to get there safely.”
Seeing the drone, Kupin assumed it was a Russian UAV that was about to attack him.
‘The drone descended, ‘observed,’ and then flew away. When it returned, I noticed it was carrying something. I thought it was my end... that I would be a ‘200’ [killed],”the border guard said.
However, the drone didn’t drop a grenade it dropped some hot tea, and a note.
According to Lug, Kupin had already crawled some distance toward safety, so the aerial scouts suggested that he follow the drone by crawling to a point “where the infantry could safely come out and meet him.”
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“Drink, friend, and follow the drone,” the note read.
Kupin followed the drone for 700 meters until his comrades could reach and carry him off the battlefield. Currently receiving treatment in hospital, Kupin expressed his gratitude, saying, “I thank the guys very much for not leaving me. Thanks to them, I stayed alive.”
This incident highlights not only the offensive potential that drones provide but the growing number of examples where they have played a crucial role in aiding Ukrainian military operations and providing critical support in challenging situations.
In a previous comment to Kyiv Post, a Ukrainian intelligence officer mentioned that MAVIC drones can be used to deliver essential supplies such as medicine, water, food, and even cigarettes to exhausted AFU soldiers wounded in combat while they wait for the opportunity to be evacuated.
In early January, a Facebook post by the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade showed how a Ukrainian soldier, who had been captured by Russian forces and was in an enemy trench was guided to safety by a drone which directed the soldier back to Ukrainian positions.
Ukraine’s Western operational command earlier released a video on Telegram with the intriguing caption “A MAVIC drone captured a Russian soldier.”
In an interview with Kyiv Post, a Ukrainian aerial scout explained that the drone guided the Russian to the point where he could surrender. He mentioned that there are instances when MAVIC drops a note with a message such as: “Go surrender, you won't be killed, and they will feed you.”
He told us that there have even been occasions when a member of the Russian armed forces has raised a white flag or signals with gestures or raised hands that he wants to turn himself in. In such situations the aerial scout will bring the MAVIC drone down low and flies slowly, showing the way.
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