Ukraine Warupdated 47m ago2 min read
Ukraine Rescues Wounded Infantryman Kostiantyn Vlasenko With Drone After 491 Days In Kharkiv
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Kostiantyn Vlasenko spent 491 days at the frontline before evacuation by drone. He amputated his own foot to survive after a Russian drone attack.
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491 Days, One Drone
Ukraine rescued wounded infantryman Kostiantyn Vlasenko after he remained in a fighting position for 491 days, with a drone carrying him through the air in the Kharkiv region. Vlasenko told Reuters that he had been crouching inside a crater under a boiler in a school that had been bombed, and he said he reached a conclusion that he had to amputate his only remaining leg. Vlasenko said the Russian drone attack left him unable to crawl because his right leg was broken and twisted, and he described using a knife to amputate and applying a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Ukrainian commanders said the October 4 rescue was the first known case of a soldier being rescued by a drone, and Reuters said it could not independently verify all details of his account. The rescue carried Vlasenko 15 kilometers away, with the six-rotor drone remotely controlled and his comrades watching and exchanging congratulations after its success.
Amputation and the Kill Zone
Vlasenko said he had already lost his left foot in a Russian drone strike in February, and he described his right leg as broken and bent in the same attack. Vlasenko told Reuters, "I had already buried myself," and he added, "I knew there was no hope left." Ukrainian commanders described the area as a kill zone, where the vast armies of drones swarming the skies made any movement potentially fatal, and they said the drone rescue marked a turnaround for him.
The 30th Mechanized Brigade deployed Vlasenko in the Kharkiv region, and Reuters said he was supplied by daily drone supply drops including chocolate and premium cigarettes on his birthday. Reuters also said Vlasenko’s story was corroborated by the Ukrainian military and video footage from a camera mounted on the drone that saved him, even as Reuters said it could not independently verify all elements of his account.
How the Rescue Was Built
Ukrainian specialists modified a heavy-lift aircraft to transport a person suspended beneath its frame, and they used the Gurzuf Defence six-rotor aircraft known as the Ayudag-6. The Latest news from Azerbaijan account said the Ayudag-6 could transport loads weighing up to 90 kilograms over distances of approximately 25 kilometres, and it said commanders estimated Vlasenko weighed approximately 70 kilograms after his prolonged deployment. The operation began on October 4, when Vlasenko emerged from his shelter and secured himself to a cable hanging from the drone's electric winch, and the six-rotor aircraft lifted him approximately 70 metres above the ground.
The rescue plan relied on three smaller Vampire drones to escort the rescue aircraft and distract Russian attack drones, while Ukrainian artillery units and additional drone operators targeted Russian drone positions to reduce the risk. The Independent said the rescue mission was the product of more than six months of preparation, and it quoted Vlasenko telling the outlet, "The flight was calm, I mostly looked around the area."