Ukrainian forces recently carried out two evacuations of elderly civilians from front-line areas using ground robots, according to military officials.
In one case near Pokrovsk, paratroopers used a ground robotic platform during the evacuation of an elderly woman who requested rescue as shelling intensified around her settlement. The robot was used to carry her belongings, while troops escorted her on foot.
“The evacuation took place in difficult conditions: first, belongings were loaded onto a ground robotic platform, then several kilometers were covered on foot under the escort of our paratroopers,” the brigade said Tuesday. “Along the route, the group repeatedly had to hide from enemy drones.”
After reaching a safer area, the brigade used an HMMWV to transport the woman to relative safety.
In a separate operation, Ukrainian drone operators carried out a three-stage evacuation of four elderly civilians trapped near an active front line in the Lyman area of eastern Ukraine, using a ground robot, a boat and coordinated medical transport, officials said.
“At one of the positions of the Third Army Corps in a front-line city in the Lyman area, four elderly residents requested evacuation assistance,” the corps said on May 13. “Fighters of the Silver Battalion coordinated a plan to transport local residents as safely as possible, including a wounded woman.”
Military officials said the civilians were first loaded onto a ground robotic vehicle and moved out of the most dangerous area, then transferred to a boat to cross a river before being handed over to medical personnel and transported to a hospital in Sloviansk.
Video released by the unit showed nighttime movement of the robotic system and the coordinated transfer across the river.
The operation involved Ukraine’s UGV PBS Kraken 1654 system and personnel from the Arma Group, Ghost Unit and the civil-military cooperation service, according to the Third Army Corps.
The operations underscore the increasing use of ground robots in evacuations from front-line areas where conventional vehicles face heightened risk from drone surveillance and strikes.
Ukraine’s armed forces conducted more than 9,000 missions using uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) in March alone, up from about 2,900 operations in November 2025, according to the defense ministry.
Officials said roughly 2,000 residents have been evacuated from southern front-line areas since the start of 2026, including hundreds of children and people with limited mobility. They urged civilians still in high-risk zones to leave while evacuation routes remain open.
“Saving human life under any conditions is a priority of the Third Corps. We urge all residents of front-line areas to evacuate in time for your safety!” The Third Army Corps said.
