Vampire bomber drone rescues two Ukrainian soldiers from Russian captivity
Ukrainian servicemen from the 21st Separate Mechanised Brigade have freed two of their brothers-in-arms from Russian captivity with help from the Vampire, a heavy attack hexacopter developed by the SkyFall company.
Source: 21st Separate Mechanised Brigade
Details: The operation took place in April 2026 on the North Slobozhanshchyna front.
"During a Russian assault on a neighbouring brigade's positions, two of our infantrymen were captured and the command requested assistance. A Vampire crew from our brigade was stationed a few kilometres from the scene. Wasting no time, the soldiers got the drone ready and immediately set out to carry out the rescue," the 21st Brigade said.
According to the brigade, Russian troops were already escorting the prisoners towards their positions when the Ukrainian hexacopter appeared overhead.
"When they heard the distinctive sound of the Vampire hovering above them, the Russians panicked, abandoned the prisoners and attempted to flee. But they were unsuccessful: following precision strikes by our drone operators, two occupiers were killed, giving the Ukrainian soldiers a chance to escape," the military said.
According to information from the neighbouring brigade, both of the infantrymen have returned to their units.
Footage released by the 21st Brigade shows a Vampire heavy attack drone crew from the unit detecting the captured Ukrainian soldiers during the Russian assault, striking the Russian troops and forcing them to abandon the prisoners.
The brigade stressed that this is the first confirmed case on the North Slobozhanshchyna front in which Ukrainian troops were freed from captivity with the help of a drone.
"Thank you to Rubin, Balta, Balu and Diadia Kolia for their determination and skilful work! The other hero of this story is the Ukrainian-made Vampire unmanned system – a combat machine that can spread panic among the occupiers by its mere presence," the brigade emphasised.
For reference: The Vampire is a heavy Ukrainian attack hexacopter developed by the SkyFall tech defence company. The system is used for bombing, remote mining, engaging equipment and logistics missions. Russian forces call the Vampire "Baba Yaga" after the infamous witch from Slavic folk tales.
Background: Ukrainska Pravda reported earlier that three Russian soldiers had been captured by the Droid TW-7.62, a reconnaissance and strike ground robotic system based on the NUMO platform.
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