A Ukrainian soldier who amputated his own foot after suffering devastating injuries in a Russian drone attack has been rescued by a giant aerial drone after spending 491 days on Ukraine’s frontlines.
Kostiantyn Vlasenko, 49, spent almost eight months trapped beneath the boiler of a bombed-out school after an attack in February killed his fellow soldier and left him unable to walk.
His rescue on October 4 involved a six-rotor drone that lifted him 70 metres into the air and carried him 15 kilometres to safety.
Ukrainian commanders described it as the first known aerial drone rescue of a soldier in the five-year war against Russia.
Speaking to Reuters from a hospital bed in Kharkiv, Vlasenko said he had lost hope of surviving. “I had already buried myself,” he said, looking at his two bandaged stumps. “I knew there was no hope left.”
His account was supported by the Ukrainian military and footage from a camera mounted on the rescue drone, although Reuters could not independently verify every detail.
Vlasenko, a married infantryman serving with Ukraine’s 30th Mechanised Brigade in the Kharkiv region, was deployed to a frontline position in May last year.
He joined another soldier known by the call sign Basky in a cramped underground dugout, where they relied on daily drone deliveries for food and other supplies.
The packages sometimes contained small comforts, including chocolate and premium cigarettes sent to Vlasenko on his birthday.
Their deployment became increasingly dangerous as Russian drones made movement around their position almost impossible.
When commanders attempted to rotate the soldiers out in autumn last year, two replacement troops were killed while approaching their position, according to Vlasenko.
Two more soldiers sent to recover their bodies were also killed. “That’s when I remember realising that this would definitely be a turning point,” he recalled. “That no one would get out anymore.”
The area had become part of what soldiers call the kill zone, where large numbers of surveillance and attack drones make movement potentially fatal.
Troops on both sides have been forced to remain underground for months, with conventional evacuations becoming increasingly difficult.
After spending 10 months together, Vlasenko and Basky abandoned their flooded foxhole in mid-February and moved into a ruined school building.
Their new shelter was soon discovered.
A Russian surveillance drone spotted them as they emerged to collect dry clothing and food delivered by their comrades.
Another drone attacked, killing Basky on his 50th birthday.
The explosion tore apart Vlasenko’s left foot and seriously injured his right leg when he fell.
Unable to move properly, he crawled into a small pit beneath the metal boiler that had once heated the school.
The space measured approximately 80 by 60 centimetres.
Vlasenko remained trapped beneath the boiler as his injuries deteriorated.
He said his left foot gradually rotted away, while his right lower leg was so badly damaged that the bone protruded.
After about three months, he concluded that removing his remaining foot was his only chance of survival.
Using a knife, he amputated it himself and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. “I had to amputate it because it was just dragging along behind me.” The leg was dragging so much that the bone was sticking out further and further. So I no longer had either of my legs.”
With both feet gone and Russian drones operating overhead, Vlasenko believed he would never leave the school alive.
His commanders were nevertheless working with Ukraine’s 92nd Assault Brigade and other military units to find a way to evacuate him.
An officer involved in planning the operation, identified only by his call sign Alex, said sending a pickup truck or armoured vehicle into the area was almost impossible because of the drone threat.
Ukrainian forces had also begun using unmanned ground vehicles for evacuations, but those carried significant risks.
Two such vehicles were sent to reach Vlasenko. Both were destroyed by Russian drones.
With conventional rescue options exhausted, officers learned about a new heavy-lift aerial drone manufactured by Ukrainian company Gurzuf Defence.
The aircraft had six vertical rotors and a black skeletal frame resembling a giant insect.
It could carry up to 90 kilograms over a distance of 25 kilometres.
Commanders estimated that Vlasenko, who had spent more than a year on the frontline, weighed about 70 kilograms.
The plan was to carry him 15 kilometres to a safer position behind Ukrainian lines.
In early October, one of Vlasenko’s regular supply deliveries contained two unexpected items: a harness and a phone loaded with instructional videos.
The equipment was intended to prepare him for an aerial evacuation.
Despite the danger, Vlasenko understood that the operation offered his best chance of survival.
On October 4, the six-rotor rescue drone arrived above his position.
He attached himself to a carabiner suspended from the aircraft’s winch before being lifted approximately 70 metres into the air.
The rescue required a coordinated military operation to prevent Russian drones from intercepting the aircraft.
Three smaller six-propeller drones escorted the main aircraft to distract Russian attack drones.
Four Ukrainian first-person-view drone crews, supported by artillery and larger fixed-wing drones, attacked known Russian drone positions for two hours to suppress enemy fire.
The rescue aircraft then carried Vlasenko through the air for about 15 minutes before landing at its destination.
The Ukrainian military withheld the precise landing location for security reasons.
The operation brought an end to one of the longest reported Ukrainian frontline deployments of the war.
For Vlasenko, the flight presented a different fear from those he had endured during his months underground. “I wasn’t afraid of falling, say somewhere into the forest, I wasn’t afraid of that. But I was afraid of falling into the water, because I can’t swim.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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