Ukrainian soldier ‘cut off his own leg’ before miracle battlefield evacuation by drone after 70 weeks stranded

The injured soldier airlifted from Ukraine’s frontline by drone cut off his own frostbitten leg in a desperate bid to survive, having spent more than a year alone in the kill zone before his dramatic rescue, according to reports.Kostiantyn Vlasenko, 49, made history as the first person to be evacuated from a war-zone with a flying drone, as Russian UAVs and landmines made a conventional rescue impossible.The rescue mission this month was the product of more than six months of preparation, coordinating helicopters, electronic warfare and artillery with the drone team on the ground, according to Ukrainian outlet Oboronka.“The flight was calm, I mostly looked around the area,” the soldier told the outlet after his heroic rescue. “And when I landed, I felt safe and relieved - I would finally see my family soon. A special thank you to my clerk with the call sign ‘Lefty’ for spoiling me with goodies.”The volunteer fighter from Kryvyi Rih, who was serving with Ukraine’s 30th Mechanised Brigade last summer, had reportedly spent 70 weeks stranded in Kharkiv oblast, reliant on airdrops of food, cigarettes and a Stephen King novel, until his evacuation on October 4.Ukraine claimed to have evacuated a soldier by drone in a world first (92nd Assault Brigade)Vlasenko and a colleague had initially been based on the left bank of the Oskil River, defending a position known as Verdun from a concrete drainage pipe when their their location was flooded, forcing them move to an abandoned building.The other soldier was killed on February 16 while moving to a backup point, leaving Vlasenko to navigate the kill zone on his own. Russian troops knew his position and tried to persuade him to suffer, but the infantryman refused.“Brother, we know you’re here. Your comrades won’t help you,” he recalled the Russians saying, in comments to Ukrainian outlet Fakty.The husband and father was critically injured by a munition dropped from a Russian drone that crippled the bottom of both of his legs. His left foot eventually developed necrosis and came off, while he amputated his right foot himself with a knife.“Tears were streaming. I had to cut. And I cut it off,” he said, according to United24, president Volodmyr Zelensky’s official fundraiser.Still pinned down in hostile territory, Vlasenko was rendered unable to leave the position without help.The wounded infantryman from the 30th Mechanized Brigade was recovering after the event, a statement said (92nd Assault Brigade)Ukraine attempted various rescue missions over the months but were set back each time by Russian forces, Oboronka reported. Hopes of reaching the soldier with infantry were scuppered by the lingering presence of enemy drones.Vlasenko survived on air drops of food and relief for months in his injured state, communicating with base by walkie talkie until his rescue this month. His wife sent him Stephen King’s horror novel ‘The Outsider’ to read while stuck, according to reports.The soldier told Fakty he was concerned at the time about other soldiers dying in their bid to save him, and resigned himself to staying in position forever.“I didn’t want them to leave anymore. I had already agreed to stay there forever,” he said.The operation came together some six months after it was first proposed by an intelligence chief, call sign Alex, with the 2nd mech battalion, who suggested using an aerial drone to bypass the ground threats.A new UAV called Heavy Shot Ayudag-6 was chosen for the mission, able to carry a load of up to 130kg and equipped with a winch. Vlasenko would have to secure himself to the drone in a semi-sitting position for it to work, and any mistake at that stage could result in him falling. The soldier was airdropped a phone with video instructions on how to use the new device a day before they pulled it off.“Through analysis, we calculated when the activity of enemy drones is the lowest. We decided to fly ‘in the twilight’ - at dusk, at the transition from darkness to light,” ‘Alex’ told Oboronka.During the rescue mission, Ukraine deployed Vampire bomber drones as a diversion, drawing the attention of the Russian anti-aircraft operators. One of the diversionary drones was shot down while the evacuation drone made it out unnoticed.Helicopters tailed Vlasenko back to safety while artillery shelled Russian take-off points in the area.