A mother cat and her five kittens escaped Russian-occupied Oleshky in an unusual airlift after Ukraine's National Guard flew them across the Dnipro River in a cage suspended beneath a heavy bomber drone.
Here's what to know
According to SOFX, Ukraine's National Guard said the Bolharychi strike drone company of the 11th Mykhailo Hrushevsky Brigade carried out the evacuation in late September. A mother cat and five kittens born during the occupation were placed in a specially built cage and flown out of Oleshky by a multirotor drone.
National Guard commander Oleksandr Pivnenko said the animals completed the more than six-mile (10-kilometer) trip across the river without injury, SOFX reported. The rescue mission was code-named Tigers.
According to the brigade, the cats had been abandoned in the occupied town and were in danger of starving. The operation was a success, and all of the cats will soon get new homes.
Rather than dropping munitions or hauling supplies, the heavy bomber drone was used to transport animals. Ukrainian units typically deploy that type of aircraft for battlefield logistics and strike roles.
More background
Russian forces have occupied Oleshky since 2022. The cat evacuation used a drone corridor across the Dnipro that has operated since March and has become one of the few routes for sending necessities into the front-line town.
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The route has also been used for repeated aid missions, not just isolated rescues. On Oct. 4, Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said about 400 parcels carrying nearly 4.4 tons of food, medicine, and children's kits were flown into Oleshky, SOFX reported.
The Bolharychi company commander said crews kept watch during the crossing so the drone carrying the cage would not be shot down, Suspilne, Ukraine's public broadcaster, reported.
What's being done?
For the mission, troops made a cage large enough for all six cats and secured it beneath the heavy drone. The suspended carrier was built to handle a river crossing through an active war zone.
Operators also slowed the flight to reduce the chance that the animals would become sick during the trip.
National Guard troops were waiting at the landing site to receive the cats when the drone arrived. Vyhivskyi said a drone crew had also been bringing animals back on return flights from Oleshky.
Pivnenko said the Kherson Oblast Military Administration would help offer the cats for adoption. They "landed safe and sound, though perhaps a little scared," he said, per SOFX.
Where can I learn more?
Here are a few more stories about drones being used for rescue, navigation, and other high-stakes jobs.
• In Ukraine, volunteers turned discarded vape batteries into critical drone technology when supplies ran short.
• In Germany, a farmer and volunteers used drones to save animals before harvesters moved in.
• Scientists developed bat-inspired echolocation navigation that could steer drones through smoke and rubble.
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