Ukrainian soldier amputated own leg and survived 491 days before drone evacuation

Ukrainian infantryman Kostiantyn Vlasenko spent 491 days in a dangerous area of eastern Ukraine after being seriously wounded in February. He hid first in a concrete drainage pipe with fellow soldier Baski, then in an abandoned school after Baski was killed on his 50th birthday.

When his left foot rotted and fell off from severe frostbite, his right leg began dangling, so he placed it on a brick and cut through the remaining tissue with a knife. He said tears were flowing but he had to cut.

“Tears were flowing, but I had to cut.”

Commanders sent him medical supplies, food, and a package from his wife Tetyana by drone, including a Stephen King novel. A Russian speaker urged him to surrender, but he replied with the Snake Island defiance phrase.

Several land evacuation attempts failed, so Ukrainian Defense Forces units organized an aerial rescue. A modified bomber drone lifted the 80-kilogram soldier clinging to its underbelly.

The drone rose 120 metres and flew 18 kilometres from Petropavlivka to safety, escorted by three Vampire drones. Vlasenko made a heart sign and a thumbs-up to the drone's camera during the evacuation.