A UGV operator from the 91st Separate Anti-Tank Battalion walked three kilometers under the threat of FPV drones to recover a broken robotic platform. Another UGV had to be used for the evacuation.
22-year-old Iryna, call sign “Suieta” (“Hustle”), a ground robotic complex operator of the 91st Separate Anti-Tank Battalion, independently set out to retrieve a UGV that had broken down during a combat mission. The story of the servicewoman was shared on September 30 by the 16th Army Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on their channel.
According to military personnel, the robot stopped after attacks by Russian FPV drones. Iryna covered about three kilometers of a dangerous route to reach the vehicle. She first attempted to move it using a transport remote control. The UGV managed to move partially, but the electronics then failed completely.
Another ground robotic complex was then dispatched to the location. Upon its arrival, Iryna connected the two platforms with tie-down straps. The second robot began towing the disabled vehicle while the operator accompanied them on foot along the route, monitoring the return of both platforms.
Iryna came to work with ground robotic complexes after serving as a combat medic and a gunner-operator. She survived a wound and a concussion, and now she operates robotic platforms, prepares them for missions, charges batteries, and performs maintenance.
It is known that UGVs are increasingly taking on the most dangerous logistics tasks. According to the Ministry of Defense, in the first half of 2026 alone, Ukrainian military personnel completed more than 50,000 logistics and evacuation missions using ground robotic complexes. In June, the number of such tasks exceeded 16,600.
By the end of July, the figure had surpassed 66,300 missions, and the number of UGVs contracted for the Defense Forces in 2026 reached more than 22,000. The Ministry of Defense states that the vast majority of the purchased platforms are intended for logistics tasks.
For the 91st Battalion itself, robotic systems have also become a routine tool. According to military personnel, at the time of the described mission, its UGVs had already completed 239 sorties — a number the soldiers symbolically decorated on a celebratory cake after a duty shift.
We previously reported how in the 91st Separate Battalion (16th Army Corps) the first recorded instance occurred of one ground robotic complex evacuating another — one damaged in combat near positions.
