Latest news with #MykolaHrytsenko
Gulf Today
02-08-2025
- Gulf Today
Trapped Ukrainian soldier escapes on e-bike delivered by drone
An injured Ukrainian soldier stuck behind enemy lines for days was rescued after being delivered an e-bike by a drone. A video of the dramatic rescue showed a UAV drone airdropping the 40kg bike down to the wounded man, who was surrounded by Russian forces, before he cycled away. The soldier's Rubizh brigade said three men were killed by enemy fire during a skirmish in Siversk, northern Ukraine, leaving the soldier on his own for five days. In a video the soldier, call sign 'Tanker', said: 'Our drones covered us from above as best as they could. Then they threw two gas cylinders straight into our hole and a lighter. We caught fire. 'Every day, I was surrounded, from all sides. I fought back as best I could.' Brigade commander Mykola Hrytsenko explained the challenges they faced in trying to rescue their stranded comrade. 'The enemy was in front, behind, and on both flanks, completely surrounded,' the commander said. '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, he simply wouldn't have made it.' The bike was lowered to the wounded soldier so he could make his escape The bike was lowered to the wounded soldier so he could make his escape (Rubizh Brigade) The brigade then came up with the bold plan to deliver a vehicle to him by drone. The first two attempts to fly the bike in failed, with Russian forces shooting the first out of the sky and the second crashing. They managed to get the bike to the soldier on the third attempt – but his ordeal was not over yet. After fleeing 400m, he hit a remote mine. Tank limped a further 200m with a leg injury before he was rescued. A second e-bike was then delivered, which he rode for 15 minutes to an evacuation point. 'To carry out this operation, they had to calculate the right time of day, the right weather conditions that would allow him to do it,' Cdr Hrytsenko added. The soldier fled around 400m on an e-bike delivered by drone, before hitting a mine and limping the rest of the way The soldier fled around 400m on an e-bike delivered by drone, before hitting a mine and limping the rest of the way (YouTube/Rubizh Brigade) Reports of the rescue effort emerged after Vladimir Putin's forces launched a wave of missile attacks on the capital Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, killing 16 people, including a six-year-old boy and his mother. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged his allies to bring about 'regime change' in Russia following the attack. 'If the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilise neighbouring countries,' he said. 'Today the world has once again seen Russia's response to our desire for peace ... Therefore, peace without strength is impossible,' the Ukrainian president added. The Independent
The Independent
01-08-2025
- The Independent
An injured Ukrainian soldier was stuck behind enemy lines for days. He escaped on an e-bike airdropped by a drone
An injured Ukrainian soldier stuck behind enemy lines for days was rescued after being delivered an e-bike by a drone. A video of the dramatic rescue showed a UAV drone airdropping the 40kg bike down to the wounded man, who was surrounded by Russian forces, before he cycles away. The soldier's Rubizh brigade said three men were killed by enemy fire during a skirmish in Siversk, northern Ukraine, leaving the soldier on his own for five days. In a video the soldier, call sign 'Tanker', said: 'Our drones covered us from above as best as they could. Then they threw two gas cylinders straight into our hole and a lighter. We caught fire. 'Every day, I was surrounded, from all sides. I fought back as best I could.' Brigade commander Mykola Hrytsenko explained the challenges they faced in trying to rescue their stranded comrade. 'The enemy was in front, behind, and on both flanks, completely surrounded,' the commander said. '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, he simply wouldn't have made it.' The brigade then came up with the bold plan to deliver a vehicle to him by drone. The first two attempts to fly the bike in failed, with Russian forces shooting the first out of the sky and the second crashing. They managed to get the bike to the soldier on the third attempt - but his ordeal was not over yet. After fleeing 400m he hit a remote mine. Tank limped a further 200m with a leg injury before he was rescued. A second e-bike was then delivered, which he rode for 15 minutes to an evacuation point. 'To carry out this operation, they had to calculate the right time of day, the right weather conditions that would allow him to do it,' Cmndr Hrytsenko added. Reports of the rescue effort emerged after Vladimir Putin's forces launched a wave of missile attacks on the capital Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, killing 16 people, including a six-year-old boy and his mother. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged his allies to bring about "regime change" in Russia following the attack. 'If the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilise neighbouring countries," he said. "Today the world has once again seen Russia's response to our desire for peace ... Therefore, peace without strength is impossible," the Ukrainian president added.
Daily Mail
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Drone delivers e-bike, enabling soldier's escape from Russian forces
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. '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. 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.
Daily Mail
01-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Moment wounded Ukrainian soldier escapes Russian forces... on an e-bike that was delivered by drone
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.
Business Insider
31-07-2025
- Business Insider
Drones were just used to drop an electric bike on the battlefield for a stranded soldier, Ukrainian brigade says
A Ukrainian brigade said it used first-person-view drones to deliver e-bikes to a surrounded soldier, marking a rare instance where such devices were used to airlift a vehicle in battle. In a video published on Wednesday, the "Rubizh" 4th Brigade of Ukraine's National Guard said it dropped the roughly 88-pound e-bikes so the soldier could escape mostly Russian-controlled territory. While the brigade didn't say in the video when the operation occurred, it said the soldier had been trapped at a shelter near Siversk, a town in Donetsk, where fighting is still ongoing. "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 the video. The soldier, whom the brigade identified by the call sign Tankist, was the only survivor of four Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the area, Hrytsenko said. "The Siversk direction is known for incredibly difficult logistics. Almost none exists there. Guys have to walk six to seven kilometers on foot to reach a position," he said. Hrytsenko said his team crafted an evacuation plan that involved heavy cargo drones, such as the Baba Yaga or Heavy Shot, carrying a bicycle with an electric motor to the exhausted soldier's position. Such drones are typically used in Ukraine as bombers and are designed to deliver payloads of about 40 to 50 pounds, though they can also airlift cargo. Carrying a nearly 90-pound e-bike, Hrytsenko said, would push the drone to its limits and shorten its range to roughly 2 kilometers. It took three attempts, brigade says Hrytsenko said his team initially lost two drones trying to deliver e-bikes to the soldier. The first was shot down with the bike, while the second crashed because its motors burned out, he added. But the "Rubizh" brigade published clips of the third drone carrying the bike via a winch system and the soldier appearing to receive the bike. Business Insider could not independently verify the authenticity of the brigade's footage. Hrytsenko said the bike's parts were disassembled and brought to a nearby position on the frontline. Afterward, the vehicle was put together and flown to the soldier, he added. "Everyone in HQ was shouting and crying like we'd just launched the first plane in the sky," Hrytsenko said of the moment when the bike arrived. The brigade also showed surveillance drone footage of a soldier riding an e-bike through the battlefield. Hrytsenko said that while the soldier later struck a land mine, he was able to walk several hundred meters to a nearby friendly position, where drone pilots flew in another e-bike so he could fully exit the combat zone. "The operation cost us two lost e-bikes, around 100,000, and two lost HeavyShot drones, $15,000 each," Hrytsenko said, likely referring to 100,000 hryvnias, or about $2,340. The brigade said the soldier evacuated safely and showed interview clips of a man it said was Tankist. BI could not independently verify his identity. Hrytsenko added that the e-bikes were funded via donations from volunteers, a common occurrence in Ukraine, where units have to crowdfund for drones and weapons. "If you see a strange fundraiser for an e-bike, or a unicycle, don't be surprised. Maybe it will save a life," he said. First-person-view, or FPV, drones have been used for many non-combat functions during the war, such as dropping small items on the battlefield or compelling soldiers to surrender via loudspeaker. However, this marks one of the first times such a drone has been used to deliver a large asset like a vehicle during ongoing fighting. Given that the size of the payload may make a drone easier to spot while limiting its range, it's unclear if this tactic will become more commonplace.
