Kostiantyn Vlasenko, who held his position for 491 days and was evacuated by drone, has been awarded title of Hero of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine to Kostiantyn Vlasenko, a soldier with the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Prince Kostiantyn Ostrozky, who carried out his duties at his post for 491 days. Of these, he spent 232 days alone, despite suffering a serious injury and constantly hiding from the Russians.
This was reported on the website of the Office of the President, according to Censor.NET.
Held the ‘Vertun’ position
From 3 June 2025 to 15 February 2026, Kostiantyn Vlasenko remained continuously at the "Vertun" firing position near the village of Synkivka in the Kharkiv sector.
"Despite constant Russian shelling, he prevented the enemy from carrying out any manoeuvres, destroying their personnel and equipment even as they approached the positions. Kostiantyn Vlasenko also coordinated the use of his unit’s firepower and UAVs," the Office of the President’s statement said.
Injuries
On 15 February 2026, Russian drones and artillery completely destroyed the ‘Vertun’ position. Kostiantyn Vlasenko and his comrade survived, but came under attack from enemy drones whilst retreating. The soldier sustained severe gunshot wounds to both legs, whilst his comrade went missing in action.
Kostiantyn Vlasenko took cover near a school, where he administered first aid to himself. Attempts were made to evacuate him using a medical evacuation helicopter, but the enemy destroyed the helicopter before it could reach the position. It was impossible to carry out the evacuation by any other means. An evacuation on foot was also considered, but walking to the position was extremely risky due to constant Russian shelling.
Gangrene caused the soldier to lose one foot, whilst he had to amputate the other himself due to his injuries. Despite this, Kostiantyn Vlasenko continued to secretly observe the enemy and provided vital information to his comrades.
A remarkable rescue
On 4 October, Kostiantyn Vlasenko was successfully evacuated thanks to the joint efforts of the 2nd Mechanised Battalion of the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Prince Kostiantyn Ostrozky, the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade named after Koshovy Ataman Ivan Sirko, and the 14th Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Prince Roman the Great.
Preparations for this operation lasted several months and brought together soldiers from various units and the manufacturer of modular unmanned systems, the statement said.
"The new Heavy Shot ‘Ayudag-6’ heavy-duty multifunctional hexacopter was used for the evacuation; defenders from the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade helped to retrofit and adapt it for transport. The technical preparation of the aircraft for this operation was carried out by Konstantin Vlasenko’s comrades-in-arms, Yuriy Haponyuk and Dmytro Melnychyn. On the ground, the evacuation was supported by a team led by Senior Private Vasyl Prokopivnyuk. Senior Private Serhiy Stoyan was directly in charge of piloting the hexacopter. The operation lasted just over an hour. "Once it was over, Private Ruslan Chernov administered first aid to the Hero and ensured his evacuation to a medical facility," the Office of the President reported.
The Head of State awarded Senior Private Serhiy Stoyan the "For a Life Saved" medal.
"All other participants in this unique operation to save the life of a Ukrainian soldier will also be honoured with state awards. The nominations for these are already prepared," the statement said.
Background
It was previously reported that soldiers from the unmanned ground systems company, part of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade named after Ataman Ivan Sirko, had, for the first time in the world, evacuated a soldier from a combat position using a heavy drone. The rescued soldier was Kostiantyn Vlasenko, a soldier from the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade, who had spent 491 days at his position.
