Ukrainian soldier rescued by a drone chopped off own leg while hiding for 491 days

Ukraine rescued a soldier using an aerial drone in the first mission of its kind. The infantryman had been stuck on the frontline for 491 days, with Russian drones preventing him from being retrieved from the heavily mined terrain in the Kharkiv region. Kostiantyn Vlasenko had to chop off his own leg to survive frostbite. Russia repeatedly told him to surrender, but he continued to hide and hit back. Ukraine military finally came up with a way to rescue him, sending a drone on which he attached himself before being finally flown to safety.

Vlasenko first hid in a cramped concrete pipeline with comrade "Baski". The pipe flooded last winter, forcing them to leave the place. The duo then took shelter in an abandoned school. Baski was killed on his 50th birthday. Vlasenko continued to hold out even as Russia sent a speaker announcing that he should surrender. The 49-year-old responded, "Russian warship, go f*** yourself!"

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He spent a further eight months inside a cast-iron furnace to avoid being hit by drones. Drones dropped food, medical supplies and a care package from his wife, including a Stephen King novel, The Outsider. Frostbite caused his left foot to rot and fall off. His right leg also started dangling, and he decided to chop it off himself.

How Ukraine pulled off the drone rescue

Ukrainian military then decided to pull off the world's first-ever aerial drone evacuation. They dropped a phone with instructions for Vlasenko on how to attach himself to the underside of the drone. The bomber drone was modified to ensure it could carry the weight of a human safely. After he was able to attach himself to the drone, it lifted 65 feet in the air and flew 18km alongside a fleet of three Vampire drones. He finally landed safely, where he was greeted by the operator of the drone. "Welcome back to the ground!" he said.

The mission lasted one hour 14 minutes. Vlasenko was taken to the hospital, where he recalled his ordeal and the extraordinary rescue by Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov. "I have no words… A wonder. It is a miracle," he said.

Ukraine shared details of the mission

Ukrainian military posted about the mission on its Facebook page. "Due to intense enemy drone activity and the presence of landmines, evacuation using conventional unmanned ground vehicles was impossible," it said.

Vlasenko was a truck driver at a quarry before the war broke out. After he learned about the Russian attack, he went to the draft office and demanded to be signed up. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of Ukraine's 30th Mechanised Brigade. He was sent to evacuate an injured soldier in the Kharkiv region and replace them at a position in a concrete drainage pipe.