Moment wounded Ukrainian soldier escapes Russian forces... on an e-bike that was delivered by drone

Daily Mail​

a day ago

This is the astonishing moment a wounded Ukrainian soldier who was stranded for several days behind enemy lines was able to escape after he was delivered an e-bike by a drone.
Footage captured by the Rubizh brigade of Ukraine 's national guard shows an unmanned aerial vehicle hauling the 88-pound bike down to the injured serviceman before he is seen cycling away from Russian forces.
Three of the brigade's troops were reportedly killed by enemy fire during the operation in the Siversk area in northern Ukraine, which left the soldier to hold down the position on his own for five days.
He also sustained a leg injury, making it difficult for him to evacuate alone.
'The enemy was in front, behind, and on both flanks. Completely surrounded,' Mykola Hrytsenko, a junior lieutenant serving as the brigade's chief of staff, said in a video published on Wednesday.
The soldier said his team came up with an evacuation plan that involved heavy cargo drones to carry the bicycle to his position.
These types of drones are usually used by Ukraine as bombers but can also lift heavy cargo.
Hrytsenko said his comrades initially lost two drones trying to deliver the electric vehicles to him.
The first was shot down as it attempted to deliver the bike, while the second crashed after its motors burned out.
Mykola Gristenko, a chief of staff in the brigade, said a rescue team could not reach the injured soldier without risking their own lives.
'It was impossible to drive up with equipment because the enemy was everywhere. He couldn't get out on his own either, because he had to walk 1.5km to the nearest position.
'In his condition, with his injuries and lower limbs, he simply wouldn't have made it.'
Drones have become an integral tool used by Ukraine during the war with Russia, allowing troops to navigate enemy lines without risking soldiers' lives.
It comes after Ukraine unleashed chaos at Moscow's four airports last week with drone strikes on the city.
Hundreds of passenger planes had to be diverted as waves of unmanned flying bombs converged on the Russian capital.
Footage showed explosions as Russian air defences attacked incoming unmanned planes in Zelenograd, a district 23 miles northwest of the Kremlin.
The soldier said his team came up with an evacuation plan that involved heavy cargo drones to carry the bicycle to his position
Russia's defence ministry claimed to have downed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 19 that were approaching Moscow.
But during the chaos, authorities were twice forced close airspace over Moscow.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency diverted some 134 planes to alternate airports amid the mayhem, saying it was 'necessary to ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights'.
Frustrated passengers - including tourists on summer vacations - were hit by delays, diverted flights and numerous cancellations in an apparent new tactic by Ukraine to paralyse air travel in Vladimir Putin's capital.
Many bedded down at the airports amid the chaos as airports Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky were all affected.