Moment another wounded Ukrainian soldier is airlifted to safety by drone as Kyiv establishes dedicated aerial medical squad

This is the moment a wounded Ukrainian soldier who amputated his own leg is airlifted to safety by a drone.Footage shows Artem Lytvyn, whose call sign is 'Kolobok', crawling on his knees towards the heavy-lift drone before being flown above the trees.The rescue comes as Ukraine's Code 9.2 regiment establishes a dedicated aerial drone evacuation unit to rescue critically wounded soldiers from areas inaccessible by ground. Lytvyn had been stranded for several days after stepping on a magnetic mine while escorting a fellow soldier to a position, according to former Ukrainian deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko, who shared the footage.He is then seen being stretchered into an ambulance and treated by paramedics. Speaking from inside the vehicle he says: 'These are miracles'.Attempts to evacuate Lytvyn using ground drones proved impossible because of the risk to rescue teams, Gerashchenko said.With his chances of survival dwindling, the regiment deployed StarGate at the request of Code 9.2's commander.Bleeding heavily, Lytvyn crawled towards the drone and climbed into a specially designed protective stretcher before being lifted into the air. Footage shows Artem Lytvyn, whose call sign is 'Kolobok', crawling on his knees towards the heavy-lift drone before being flown above the trees to safety The drone carried him above the treeline at speeds comparable to a car, completing in 30 minutes a journey that would take assault troops around a week on foot, according to Gerashchenko He is then seen being stretchered into an ambulance and treated by paramedics. Speaking from inside the vehicle he says: 'These are miracles'The drone carried him above the treeline at speeds comparable to a car, completing in 30 minutes a journey that would take assault troops around a week on foot, according to Gerashchenko.Within two hours he had reached a stabilisation point.It was Code 9.2's fourth aerial evacuation of a severely wounded soldier. Each operation is supported by aerial reconnaissance and electronic warfare systems to help rescuers reach casualties in otherwise inaccessible locations. The rescue follows the extraordinary evacuation of another Ukrainian soldier who lost both legs while stranded behind enemy lines.After enduring 491 days in the kill zone and being forced to amputate his right leg with a blunt knife after losing his left to frostbite, Kostiantyn Vlasenko received the call he thought might never come.For the previous 231 days, the Ukrainian infantryman had been alone, hiding within a cast-iron furnace in an abandoned school, after his only comrade, callsign 'Baski', had been killed.The pair had found refuge here last winter after the cramped underground drainage pipe where they spent their first eight months flooded, forcing them to flee.But the sky above their position in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine was saturated with enemy aircraft, making evacuation impossible. A Russian drone killed Baski on his 50th birthday, leaving Vlasenko severely injured.Now, he was told a rescue was finally going to be attempted.'It's being planned,' his commander said over the radio. 'Everything is practically ready. There are just a few finishing touches.'The next sentence left the grizzled 49-year-old infantryman dumbstruck. 'They're going to drop instructions to you today,' the commander added.'What instructions?' Vlasenko whispered to himself. 'Don't I know how to crawl out of a hole, damn it?'He was certain they would send an unmanned ground vehicle, or burst through on a quadbike, as Ukraine usually does to evacuate casualties on the frontline.Instead, a drone dropped a sealed bag containing a nylon seat, rope, carabiners, and a phone loaded with a video detailing what he must do. As he watched the film, it suddenly dawned on him what his superiors had planned. Attempts to evacuate Lytvyn using ground drones proved impossible because of the risk to rescue teams, Gerashchenko said He is then seen being stretchered into an ambulance and treated by paramedics. Speaking from inside the vehicle he says: 'These are miracles''I realised it was going to be an aerial drone, because in the video he [the drone pilot tasked with saving him] was saying, 'I'll descend, and when I land, you must do this and this…''It was going to land and turn off its motors so I could crawl underneath.'On October 4, Ukraine's 92nd Separate Assault Brigade sent a heavily modified bomber drone to Vlasenko's position in Petropavlivka to carry out the first unmanned aerial evacuation of a wounded serviceman in military history.Incredible footage shows Vlasenko strap himself to its underbelly, giving a thumbs up to its camera before it rises 400ft (120 metres) in the air and flies him 11 miles to safety.It was flanked by a fleet of three Vampire drones to fight off the Russians, with one of them taken out by the enemy.Recovering in hospital, Vlasenko, callsign 'Kostya', revealed the extraordinary story behind the evacuation to Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov.Wearing a Gurzuf Defense cap – a nod to the company which made the drone that rescued him – he says of the rescue operation: 'I have no words… A wonder. It is a miracle.'