Ukrainian Battalion Uses One Ground Robot to Haul Another Off the Front Line

Ukrainian soldiers have used one unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to pull another out of a combat zone, the 91st Separate Anti-Tank Battalion said. The unit published video of the recovery, which shows a serviceman riding on the rescue vehicle and helping to load the damaged machine onto its platform.

According to the battalion, the stricken UGV was hit during a mission and could not leave the frontline under its own power. Troops chose to bring it back using a larger robotic system instead of abandoning it.

The recovery vehicle was driven remotely by a soldier with the call sign "As" (Ace). A second serviceman, Dmytro, known as "Abkhaz," rode on the platform itself. Once the vehicle reached the damaged robot, he set up drive-on ramps and moved it onto the evacuation vehicle.

The battalion stressed the danger of the task. In its words: "The operation had to be carried out in open terrain, where the team was exposed to the threat of enemy strikes. It was therefore carefully planned, with security measures in place at every stage."

To shield the soldier doing the loading, the unit said it deployed signals intelligence and electronic warfare systems. Interceptor drones covered the airspace above the site, and the team made sure the video link to the robot stayed stable throughout.

The 91st Battalion reported that the mission succeeded. The serviceman was extracted along with the damaged UGV.

The video is the latest example of Ukrainian units fielding ground robots for tasks beyond direct combat. Ukrainska Pravda previously reported that soldiers of the 16th Separate Support Brigade used an engineering drone to lay razor-wire obstacles in open terrain.