Ukraine rescued a wounded soldier by aerial drone after 491 days on frontline position in a first-of-its-kind operation.

Video released by the 92nd Assault Brigade showed a drone carrying the soldier through the air in the Kharkiv region while his fellow soldiers monitored the rescue operation and congratulated each other after its successful completion.

Location and date of the video could not be verified. No older version of the video was found posted online before October 19, 2026.

Rescued soldier Kostiantyn Vlasenko, 49, told Reuters he had "already buried" himself during the 491 days he spent largely alone at the position. With tears in his eyes, he said two soldiers died trying to reach and rescue him.

The Ukrainian soldier from 30th Mechanized Brigade remained at his post despite severe leg injuries.

The war, well into its fifth year, has become the first major conflict to be dominated by unmanned aerial vehicles, with thousands of the cheap but deadly machines filling the skies.

Ukraine and invader Russia are constantly advancing the new technology, which is transforming modern warfare. Both sides have had to abandon age-old tactics of gathering troops, vehicles and artillery in a relatively compressed area along the front lines. Such visible targets are easy prey for drones.

Vlasenko said Russian forces believed they had killed him, but he survived by hiding in a tiny boiler room until his evacuation in October. He described the sound of the aerial drone as "the hum of rescue", saying it would stay with him for the rest of his life.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: GIVEN AS KHARKIV REGION, UKRAINE (RELEASED OCTOBER 19, 2026) (92ND ASSAULT BRIGADE - No resales / No archive / Must on screen courtesy 92nd Assault Brigade)

1. 49-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO HOLDING AERIAL DRONE HANDLES / UNIDENTIFIED MALE VOICE SAYING OFF CAMERA (Ukrainian): "That's it, we're ready for take-off." / DRONE LIFTING VLASENKO AND CARRYING HIM

2. (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE CARRYING VLASENKO IN AIR

3. VARIOUS OF DRONE IN AIR

4. DRONE LOWERING VLASENKO TO GROUND

KHARKIV, UKRAINE (OCTOBER 19, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER, KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"I've already buried myself. You know what I mean - 491 days of being practically alone."

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER, KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"It sounded as if a helicopter was landing. There was a loud rumbling. It'll stay with me for the rest of my life - 'the hum of rescue'. It even had a taste. I can not tell you what is like but this flavour is there. It’s incredible."

GIVEN AS KHARKIV REGION, UKRAINE (RELEASED OCTOBER 19, 2026) (92ND ASSAULT BRIGADE - No resales / No archive / Must on screen courtesy 92nd Assault Brigade)

7. DRONE LOWERING VLASENKO TO GROUND / UNIDENTIFIED MALE VOICE SAYING OFF CAMERA (Ukrainian): "Welcome on the ground."

8. (BLURRED AT SOURCE) PEOPLE IN COMMAND POST CLAPPING

9. (MUTE) PEOPLE IN COMMAND POST HUGGING AND SHAKING HANDS

KHARKIV, UKRAINE (OCTOBER 19, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"I wasn't afraid of flying, and I wasn’t afraid of falling somewhere into a forest. But if I’d fallen into the water, that’s what I’d have been afraid of, because I can’t swim."

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"They lowered me down, the propellers were already starting to slow down and my lads came running over and started pulling me out. I told them, ‘I’m on my own', and I pulled myself out and ran on all fours. They were running after me."

12. VARIOUS OF VLASENKO MOVING IN WHEELCHAIR DOWN HOSPITAL CORRIDOR AND ENTERING WARD, HOSPITAL ROOM

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"They died on their way to me... (PAUSE) They never made it... (VLASENKO HAS TEARS IN HIS EYES) They are heroes..."

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"I no longer wanted anyone to come (to rescue). I knew that the course of the war would reach a turning point. One way or the other. But I did not want them to come to replace me, so they wouldn't die. But two more people died - they had gone after my fallen comrades to retrieve their bodies, and they died themselves. That's when I realised that this would definitely be a turning point for me. That no one would make it here (to the position) anymore."

15. VLASENKO CLIMBING ONTO HOSPITAL BED

16. VLASENKO'S AMPUTATED LEGS

17. VARIOUS OF VLASENKO USING HIS PHONE

18. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"I looked up and saw an enemy bird (drone) drop a projectile. It hit me in the leg and the neck. Everything went white. Out of self-preservation, I crawled back into cover. I didn't know where else I'd been hit. I found that there was a wound in my throat – the bullet had entered my neck and exited through (my throat). The one in my leg remained there."

19. VARIOUS OF VLASENKO WATCHING VIDEO OF HIS RESCUE

20. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"And there were some terrible moments when I amputated my own leg. I had to amputate it because it was just dragging along behind me. The leg was dragging so much that the bone was sticking out further and further. And I had to do it – that leg was getting in the way. There was no way to save it. So I decided to cut it off. I cut it off, applied a tourniquet, and wrapped it in a bandage straight away. I loosened the tourniquet because the bleeding had stopped. And so I no longer had both legs. And I remained at my position without legs."

KYIV REGION, UKRAINE (ARCHIVE - GIVEN AS MAY 21, 2026) (GURZUF DEFENCE - Must on screen courtesy Gurzuf Defence)

21. VARIOUS OF MEN PUTTING DRONE ON GROUND

22. MAN LOOKING AT LAPTOP

23. VARIOUS OF DRONE TAKING OFF AND IN AIR

KHARKIV, UKRAINE (OCTOBER 19, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

24. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 49-YEAR-OLD RESCUED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KOSTIANTYN VLASENKO, SAYING:

"The enemy thought they'd destroyed me. Because everything had already been smashed to pieces. They didn't think I’d crawl into that boiler room, because there wasn't any room in there. And the whole space was packed. I was lying in a space about a metre and 60 centimetres long and 80 centimetres wide. And so I lived there until October 4, when I was evacuated."

GIVEN AS KHARKIV REGION, UKRAINE (RELEASED OCTOBER 19, 2026) (92ND ASSAULT BRIGADE - No resales / No archive / Must on screen courtesy 92nd Assault Brigade) (MUTE)

25. PEOPLE IN COMMAND POST OBSERVING RESCUE OPERATION

26. DRONE VIEW OF ITS LANDING ON GROUND

27. PEOPLE IN COMMAND POST OBSERVING RESCUE OPERATION

28. DRONE VIEW OF SKYLINE