491 days trapped on the front line, wounded and surrounded by drones — until rescued in an unprecedented way
A Ukrainian soldier was rescued after 491 days of being trapped in an isolated combat position in the Kharkiv region, wounded and surrounded by Russian drones. The rescue was carried out using a heavy drone, marking the first time a wounded soldier was evacuated directly from a combat position by an unmanned aerial vehicle.
A Ukrainian soldier, 49-year-old Kostiantyn Vlasenko, was rescued after 491 days of being trapped in an isolated combat position in the Kharkiv region, wounded and surrounded by Russian drones. Initially, he was accompanied by another fighter, but that soldier was killed on February 16, 2026, on his 50th birthday, after the position was flooded and the two moved to an abandoned school. Vlasenko was wounded in his legs, and in April gangrene developed in his left foot until it fell off. Later, he amputated part of his right leg himself using a knife. His comrades maintained contact with him via radio and sent him supplies using drones. The rescue operation was carried out using a heavy drone, model Heavy Shot Ayudag-6, which lifted him from the rubble and covered a distance of 62 kilometers in one hour and 14 minutes. Vlasenko was hospitalized and is recovering in a hospital. The article is based on an interview conducted with him by Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov.