Kostiantyn Vlasenko, a 49‑year‑old volunteer from Kryvyi Rih, had been hidden in an 80‑by‑60‑centimetre hole beneath the boiler of a wrecked school for 491 days, after a Russian drone had destroyed his left foot. Russian surveillance drones hovered above, watching every movement in the ruined concrete. Despite daily drops of food, medicine and cigarettes, two attempts by ground robots to reach him failed and the soldiers sent to retrieve him were killed.
The rescue plan was conceived by battalion officer call sign Alex, who oversees drone operations. He selected a six‑propeller platform from Ukrainian maker Gurzuf Defence, weighing roughly 70 kilograms. An early‑October parcel delivered to Vlasenko contained a harness and a phone preloaded with video instructions from pilot call sign Black, providing the final steps for the lift.
On October 4, the drone lowered Vlasenko onto a winch hook, lifting him to about 70 metres. From the air, the operator guided the aircraft over 15 kilometres (9 miles) of front‑line terrain, carrying the wounded soldier to a secure extraction point. This marked the first time a large drone had been used to transport a soldier through hostile airspace.
The Ukrainian army will now evaluate the drone’s performance for future missions, while Vlasenko is being transported to a field hospital for further treatment. His wife sent him a Stephen King novel during his isolation, a small comfort in a long siege.