The key facts
- Guards Corporal Andrei Manko shot down an attack drone with small arms and evacuated two wounded servicemen, the Russian Defense Ministry reported
- Corporal Artyom Dudinov, after an FPV drone attack on his Buggy, repaired the running gear damage and delivered the cargo to its destination
- Earlier, a serviceman with the call sign Topaz spoke about evacuating 82 people from the front line; he himself was wounded three times, including one severe wound
Defense Ministry reports downed drone and rescue of the wounded
Russia's Ministry of Defense reported that Guards Corporal Andrei Manko destroyed an attack drone and evacuated two wounded fellow servicemen in the zone of the special military operation. According to the ministry, Manko received information about two wounded servicemen and set out to their location. On the way, the evacuation team's vehicle came under attack by an enemy drone. The corporal spotted the approaching aircraft and shot it down with small arms, after which the group continued on and reached the casualties.
First aid and evacuation to medics
At the scene, as the Defense Ministry noted, Manko gave both fellow servicemen first aid and stopped the bleeding, then arranged their delivery to a medical unit, where the casualties received further treatment.
Delivering ammunition after an FPV drone attack
The Defense Ministry also told of Guards Corporal Artyom Dudinov, who delivered ammunition, attack drones and food to Russian units. During one of his runs, his Buggy vehicle was attacked by an FPV drone: the vehicle suffered damage to its running gear and could not continue. Despite the threat of a repeat attack, Dudinov repaired the malfunction himself and delivered the cargo to its destination. According to the ministry, this allowed the units to continue their counter-drone tasks.
Context: evacuation of 82 people
Earlier, a Russian serviceman with the call sign Topaz spoke about evacuating 82 people from the combat zone. According to him, since late 2025 his unit had been evacuating the wounded from the front line, traveling along roads where there was a threat of mine blasts and drone attacks. During his service, Topaz himself was wounded three times, including one severe wound.
Why this matters
These episodes show that delivering the wounded and supplies in the SVO zone depends directly on countering drones: in both described cases, drone attacks were the main obstacle — from the attack on the evacuation team to the damage to the cargo vehicle. For combatants, this means that evacuation and resupply remain among the most dangerous tasks, and the outcome is often decided by the actions of individual servicemen along the route. The Defense Ministry's reports contain no information about the location or date of the episodes, so independent verification of these claims is not yet possible.
