Ukrainian soldier who cut off his own leg to survive 200 days alone on the frontline is rescued by drone

Kostiantyn Vlasenko, of the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade, survived by hiding in a cramped concrete pipeline and later a cast iron furnace. A Russian drone wounded him while he was cut off, forcing him to perform partial self-amputations. Dense minefields and swarms of Russian drones made a ground rescue impossible. A Gurzuf Defence hexacopter, originally built to drop bombs, finally flew him out on Monday.

Other Ukrainian drones distracted Russian forces while the hexacopter flew almost 40 miles.

Strapped into the harness, Vlasenko told his rescuers: 'That's it, we can take off.'