Ukraine is evacuating wounded soldiers by loading them onto large drones, in what is likely a battlefield first, report says

• Ukraine is using cargo drones to carry injured soldiers from the battlefield, The Economist reported.
• The drones can carry 397-pound weights for up to 43 miles, the report said.
• Ukraine is the first country in the world to do this, according to The Economist.

Ukraine is using cargo drones to evacuate soldiers wounded fighting against Russian forces, The Economist reported, in what is likely a first on any battlefield.

Ukraine has deployed large drones that are able to carry 397-pound weights for up to 43 miles, the report said. It is the first country in the world to do so, The Economist reported.

It is not clear how many times Ukraine has used drones to transport injured troops, or in what parts of the country it has done so.

Casualty figures have been steadily increasing during the conflict.

A purported US Defence Intelligence Agency document estimated in April that Ukraine had up to 113,500 wounded soldiers, compared to up to 180,000 wounded Russians, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Reuters reported.

However, there are no verified figures for how many Ukrainian or Russian soldiers have been injured or killed fighting, with neither country giving detailed figures on their own troops.

Wounded Ukrainian soldiers have been treated by front-line medics, in Western Ukraine far from the front lines, and in other European countries, after being transported by train.

Meanwhile, UK intelligence said in July that up to 50% of Russian combat fatalities in Ukraine were preventable, and happened due to poor medical provisions.

Captured Russian soldiers have also described being left to die.

Ukraine's use of drones to transport injured soldiers is one example of how Ukraine is learning lessons about using new technologies, in ways that could ultimately benefit other armies, the report noted.

Ukraine has also had to look to improvised weapons in its fight against Russia, and the war is being used to test some advanced weaponry on a large scale for the first time.

Ukraine's defense minister and industry experts told the Financial Times last month that they're getting valuable insight for NATO countries by using some advanced weapons on the battlefield.

The US has also offered to help Ukraine build a "trauma registry," a database of how soldiers are injured, treated, and their fate, which would be useful information for Ukraine, its allies, and wider medicine, The Economist reported, with something similar done in Afghanistan and Iraq.