Soldiers Used A War Drone To Rescue A Cat And Her Five Kittens

Drone pilots from the 118th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out what they are calling a unique humanitarian mission on June 8th, using a heavy hexacopter drone known as the Vampire to evacuate a mother cat and her five kittens from a forward frontline position and transport them safely to the rear. The operation was given the official codename Meow-Meow. The Vampire is a large, powerful unmanned aerial vehicle typically used for night drops of explosives, destroying armoured vehicles, burning out enemy dugouts, and delivering military supplies to positions too dangerous to reach on foot, and the 118th Brigade was the first to point out the contrast: when other brigades show footage of the Vampire at work, it is usually doing something very different. This time the mission was purely about rescue, and the crew brought the cat family home without incident.

According to the brigade, the cat and her kittens were spotted during another drone operation when the animals appeared in the camera's view at a forward position, and the soldiers made a quick decision to come back for them. Photos shared by the brigade show the mother and all five kittens safe and calm after being moved from the front line to the rear, the smallest members of the family apparently unfazed by their aerial evacuation. The 118th Brigade said the mission is proof that Ukrainian soldiers in this brutal war remain human and are prepared to take risks even for the sake of the smallest living creature. Operation Meow-Meow is not the only drone animal rescue to have made news in Ukraine this year: soldiers from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade used a drone to fly a cat and a dog approximately 12 kilometres to safety from frontline positions in April, and the 13th Khartiia Brigade evacuated a frontline cat named Prapor using a ground robotic system. In a war defined by its relentlessness, these missions tend to travel far beyond the front, and for obvious reasons.

Source:https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/06/09/8038513/