УКР As Ukraine approaches the four-year mark since the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, Leleka Foundation is drawing attention to how modern drone warfare is changing what it means to save lives at the front—and why reliable tactical medicine remains urgently needed.
A key part of the foundation’s message comes from firsthand testimony by Alina Sarnatska, a former frontline medic, and
Leleka’s strategic communications lead, Iryna Solomko, says the organization has supported Ukrainian field medics since 2014, focusing on a single mission: providing tactical medical supplies directly to frontline medics. Even with large-scale international assistance, she notes that medical supplies are consumable and continuously depleted in the field, creating persistent gaps that volunteers work to fill.
In recent years, Leleka narrowed its support further—working directly with medics and prioritizing tactical medical backpacks as a primary item. Solomko explains that backpacks are in high demand because they can be damaged or destroyed during shelling and other attacks, effectively making them “disposable” in combat conditions.
Alina Sarnatska described her abrupt shift from civilian life into frontline medical work in 2022. Sarnatska said she entered the army while she was a PhD student in social work and had no prior medical training—yet suddenly found herself serving as a combat medic.
“The Golden Hour” is collapsing under drones
Sarnatska and Solomko emphasized that evacuation timelines—often discussed in Western militaries as a “golden hour”—have been fundamentally disrupted by drones and the inability to reliably control airspace near the front. Sarnatska said evacuation that once might have taken hours can now take days or even a week, describing a “kill zone” extending roughly 40 kilometers from the line of contact where movement is dangerous and rescues can be delayed.
Solomko added that Leleka is building an exchange program designed to share Ukrainian medics’ case-based experience with U.S. counterparts, including first responders—citing a pilot effort with Augusta University. She argued that Ukraine’s field medicine lessons are increasingly relevant internationally because drone threats are redefining evacuation and mass-casualty response.
One example shared during the discussion illustrated the scale of the change: Solomko referenced a case in which a wounded person reportedly waited 56 days for evacuation because rescuers could not reach the position safely due to drones.
Why equipment must evolve with the threat
Leleka’s work has also adapted to these conditions. Solomko said the group began pairing evacuation support with anti-drone protection after seeing vehicles targeted, noting that without anti-drone systems an evacuation vehicle could be destroyed quickly.
The message from both speakers was consistent: in a battlefield where evacuation can be delayed and medics may be the only lifeline for extended periods, high-quality tactical medicine and durable, well-equipped packs become even more critical—not just for treatment, but for survival.
You can listen the whole conversation here: