The 92nd Separate Assault Brigade said mines and Russian drones blocked a ground evacuation. Oboronka dated the drone rescue to Oct. 4, while Gurzuf Defence said the soldier had spent 491 days in forward positions.
The Independent identified the soldier as Kostiantyn Vlasenko, 49; the brigade said he served with the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade. Oboronka reported that he was wounded on Feb. 14 by a munition dropped from a Russian drone, which badly injured both lower legs. United24 reported that Vlasenko cut off his right foot with a knife; his left foot later developed necrosis and detached.
Vlasenko survived at the position with food delivered by air and kept in touch with his base by walkie-talkie, Oboronka reported. He told Fakty he worried that troops attempting to reach him could be killed. He said he had accepted that he might remain at his position indefinitely.
The 92nd said mines and Russian drone activity made a ground evacuation impossible. In its Oct. 19 announcement, the brigade said Vlasenko was receiving treatment and rehabilitation and was no longer in life-threatening condition. EconoTimes previously covered the brigade’s announcement of the evacuation.
Oboronka reported that an intelligence officer using the call sign Alex proposed an aerial rescue, and the plan took more than six months to prepare. The team chose a flight window when its analysis indicated enemy drone activity would be lower. It used the Heavy Shot Ayudag-6, a heavy-lift drone fitted with a winch.
Vlasenko received a phone with video instructions the day before the mission and secured himself beneath the aircraft in a partly seated position, Oboronka reported. Ukrainian forces sent Vampire bomber drones to divert Russian air defenses; one decoy was shot down. Helicopters followed the evacuation aircraft back toward safety as artillery targeted Russian takeoff points in the area, the outlet reported.
