A Ukrainian soldier who spent 491 days at a frontline position has been rescued in a daring operation involving a heavy-lift drone
A Ukrainian soldier who spent 491 days at a frontline position has been rescued in a daring operation involving a heavy-lift drone, after surviving months in hiding beneath a destroyed school despite severe injuries.
Kostiantyn Vlasenko, 49, spent nearly eight months in a cramped space beneath an old boiler, unable to escape because of constant Russian drone surveillance. After losing his left foot in a drone strike, he eventually amputated his severely damaged right leg himself using a knife and a brick.
“If you didn’t see it, it saw you,” he told Ukrainian media outlet Censor.net, describing the constant threat posed by Russian drones.
With roads inaccessible to trucks and armoured vehicles, rescuers struggled to reach him. Two ground robots sent to his position were also destroyed, according to the officer who planned the mission.
A breakthrough came in early October, when a supply parcel delivered by drone contained an unusual harness and a mobile phone loaded with instructional videos. On 4 October, a large six-propeller drone reached his position. Vlasenko secured himself to a hook attached to its winch and was lifted approximately 70 metres into the air before being flown about 15km across the frontline to safety.
More from WorldMonths in hiding under destroyed school
Vlasenko had been deployed the previous year to a frontline position known as Vertun, where he was stationed alongside a fellow soldier whose call sign was Basky. Their post consisted of a concrete drainage pipe and an adjoining dug-out shelter.
Drone deliveries supplied the pair with food and other necessities. On Vlasenko’s birthday, the parcels reportedly included chocolate and premium cigarettes.
However, the situation deteriorated as Russian drones increasingly dominated the skies.
“They had so many of their mavics, their drones, that the sky was dirty,” he said.
Two soldiers sent to relieve the pair were killed before reaching their position. Two more died while attempting to retrieve their bodies. Vlasenko subsequently asked his commanders not to send additional personnel to rescue them.
“I’d rather die alone than have them die even more,” he said.
By mid-February, flooding had made their foxhole uninhabitable, forcing Vlasenko and Basky to move into a damaged school. Their movements were soon detected by a Russian surveillance drone as they ventured outside to collect a parcel containing food and dry clothes. Another drone then attacked them.
Basky died on 16 February, his 50th birthday. Vlasenko suffered injuries to his left foot, which eventually rotted away, while his right leg was severely damaged in the fall.
“I was already on all fours, just crawling,” he said.
Unable to move properly, he took refuge in a small space beneath the school’s old boiler, where he remained for months.
Russian drone sent warning
During his isolation, a Russian drone dropped a loudspeaker near his shelter. Vlasenko said a recorded message was played through it.
“Brother, we know you’re here. Believe me, your comrades won’t save you,” it said.
Despite the threat, he continued receiving supplies by drone every four to five days. The deliveries included food, medicines, cigarettes and sweets, according to Ukrainian outlet Oboronka.
Radio communication with others helped him cope with the isolation.
“It was happiness for me that I wasn’t alone, that I could hear someone,” he said.
Vlasenko also expressed gratitude that his unit continued supporting him throughout the ordeal.
“It was very lonely. They didn’t abandon me; my command didn’t abandon me,” he said.
His wife also sent him a book by Stephen King, which he read while confined to the shelter.
Soldier amputated his own leg
As his right leg continued to deteriorate, the bone began protruding through his skin, he told the Ukrainian outlet. Crawling outside to collect supply parcels further aggravated the injury, eventually convincing him that he had to amputate the limb himself.
“I put it on a brick, took a knife,” he said.
“Tears were flowing; I had to cut it.”
He used a tourniquet to control the bleeding and later made light of his condition while speaking to his commander.
“I don’t have flat feet and a size 44 now,” he joked.
Recalling the sequence of events, he said: “In April I lost my left foot, which rotted away on its own, and in May I cut off my right one myself.”
High-risk drone evacuation
The rescue operation originated with an idea proposed by an officer known by the call sign Alex, who oversees drone operations within the battalion. According to Oboronka, approximately six months passed between the initial proposal and the mission itself.
Military officers subsequently learnt about a heavy-lift drone developed by Ukrainian manufacturer Gurzuf Defence. The aircraft, featuring six rotors and a black frame, resembled a giant insect.
After more than a year at the frontline, Vlasenko was estimated to weigh around 70kg. The operation carried considerable risks, as large, slow-moving drones were vulnerable to attacks from smaller Russian drones.
Preparations intensified in early October, when Vlasenko received the harness and a phone containing instructional videos in a supply parcel. The pilot, known by the call sign Black, had also provided notes in Ukrainian and Russian.
The evacuation took place on 4 October, with three smaller drones accompanying the heavy-lift aircraft as decoys.
For two hours, attack drones, artillery and fixed-wing drones targeted known Russian drone positions. Two ground teams were stationed along the flight route to replace batteries, while units from the 30th, 14th and 43rd mechanised brigades and the 10th Army Corps participated in the mission, Oboronka reported.
Vlasenko said one of the escort drones was shot down during the operation.
Although the height did not frighten him, crossing a river proved more concerning.
“What I was afraid of was water,” he said as the drone travelled over the river. “I can’t swim.”
During the flight, he signalled “okay” and formed a heart shape for the drone’s camera.
Black, who remotely controlled the aircraft, described the responsibility he felt while transporting the injured soldier.
“I understood that there was a person below: I wanted to deliver him as quickly and as safely as possible,” he told Oboronka.
The Ukrainian military has described the mission as the first rescue of its kind.
Soldier faces long rehabilitation
Following the evacuation, Vlasenko was taken to a military hospital in Kharkiv, where he has undergone several operations. He will require artificial limbs and rehabilitation.
Asked what had helped him endure the prolonged ordeal, Vlasenko spoke about his daughter, with whom he had been unable to communicate for a long time.
“I haven’t talked to my daughter for a long time,” he said. “Maybe she’ll understand me, because Dad was at war.”