Drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier trapped for months

Ukrainian serviceman Kostiantyn Vlasenko, who lost both legs, survived for almost eight months in the ruins of a school near Kupiansk in eastern Ukraine. In October, a specially modified heavy drone carried him out of the danger zone. According to Ukrainian reports, it is the first successful evacuation of a wounded soldier by a large drone in the history of warfare.

Alone in the ruins of a school

Vlasenko, 49, was serving at an observation post near Kupiansk. His job was to track the movements of Russian units and guide Ukrainian drones onto them. In mid-February, a Russian drone struck the position: Vlasenko was gravely wounded in both legs, and his comrade was killed. Left alone among the wreckage of a village school, the wounded man took cover under the boiler of a destroyed boiler room.

He lost one leg to the injury, and the other he had to amputate himself because of gangrene. According to the outlet, he came on the radio and told his commander, whose call sign is Naum, with grim humor: “You can congratulate me: I no longer have a right leg or a size 44 boot.” A few days later, noticing maggots in the amputated limbs, he threw them out of the window. A couple of weeks after that, dozens of orange-and-black butterflies were sitting on his wounds. Vlasenko took it as a sign: “Maybe God still has plans for me.”

Food and medicine from the sky

All this time, Ukrainian drones regularly dropped water, food and medicine to him. Any attempt to reach him on the ground would almost certainly have ended in death: Russian drones constantly watched the area and hunted down rescuers. Four soldiers who were supposed to relieve Vlasenko or reinforce the position were killed on the way. Meanwhile, he dreamed of going home to his wife and four cats.

The first drone evacuation in history

His commanders refused to accept that a soldier would be left alone at his position. The rescue called for a completely new approach. One October evening, a drone carrying a package was sent to Vlasenko. Inside he found a special safety harness, written instructions and a phone with a video guide.

Vlasenko understood at once what was being prepared. The Ukrainian military used a converted cargo drone with a lifting capacity of almost 140 kilograms. The soldier strapped himself to it, and the drone flew him to safety. After months on the edge of life and death, Vlasenko ended up in a hospital. According to Ukrainian officials, this is the first successful evacuation of a soldier by a large aerial drone in history. For his fortitude, Vlasenko was awarded Ukraine’s highest state honor, the title Hero of Ukraine.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz