Watch: Ukrainian drone tries to kill Russian soldier – then returns and saves his life

 

An operator leaves a message for an injured enemy soldier on the battlefield in Donbas, providing directions.

A Ukrainian frontline battalion has documented a dramatic drone-assisted rescue of an injured Russian soldier.

This week, the K-2 Battalion, part of Ukraine's 54th Brigade, shared the footage across several social media platforms.

Accompanied by haunting music, the longest version of the video, over 18 minutes, is on Telegram. It zooms in on the Russian soldier’s pained expression, his damaged wristwatch, and the streak of dried blood down his face.

In the footage, the Ukrainian drone operator opts not to kill the wounded soldier, instead dropping water and a note, guiding him across No Man’s Land to a Ukrainian trench. The exact location and time of the video are unclear, but it seems to take place in the late summer on a battlefield in Ukraine’s Donbas region, where the 54th Brigade has been stationed throughout the war.

The video appears to be part of a recruitment effort for the K-2 Battalion, which, like much of the Ukrainian army, faces pressure to enlist more soldiers. It begins with a Ukrainian drone scanning a Russian trench after an assault, looking for survivors. It spots the injured Russian soldier lying atop two bodies beneath a makeshift earthen arch.

Initially, the drone drops a grenade near the soldier but fails to kill him.

When the drone returns, it finds the soldier has crawled away from the arch and is now on his back, pleading for mercy. The Ukrainian drone operator, moved by the sight, decides to spare him. The drone returns to base, discards its grenades, and returns with a bottle of water and a note, instructing the soldier on safely reaching Ukrainian lines.

The soldier crosses himself and waves gratitude to the drone operator before drinking the water. He then pulls out a syringe, injects a painkiller into his left arm, and lies back, exhausted. After gathering his strength, he struggles and stumbles out of the trench, limping across No Man’s Land.

With a leg injury, he collapses but soon rises, slowly navigating the artillery-cratered battlefield. The drone continues to guide him. Smoke and ongoing combat are visible as he makes his way forward.

At one point, the Russian soldier takes cover in a crater and signals to the drone for a break to smoke a cigarette. He pulls a fresh pack from his pocket, unwraps it, lights one, and smokes while surveying the battered landscape.

The drone pans out to show the wider battlefield, scarred by war. The sunsets cast an orange glow over the scene. Artillery shells occasionally explode nearby as the soldier, trudging between debris, is reportedly fired upon by his forces, according to the video’s subtitle.

Eventually, the injured soldier, still led by the Ukrainian drone, reaches the Ukrainian trench, collapsing in exhaustion. Two Ukrainian infantrymen approach, rifles slung over their shoulders, navigating the debris-strewn trench.

The Russian soldier surrenders. One Ukrainian soldier roughly grabs him, half-dragging, half-guiding him to the trench command post.