"I'll be splashing through puddles now": first soldier ever to be evacuated by drone takes first steps on prosthetic legs
Kostiantyn "Magura" Vlasenko, a serviceman and Hero of Ukraine who became the first person in history to be evacuated from his position by drone, has taken his first steps on prostheses after having both legs amputated.
Source: the Superhumans Center on social media
Details: The Superhumans Center reported that Kostiantyn started using prostheses after he had been there for just two weeks.
Quote from Kostiantyn: "I'll be splashing through puddles now. It's crazy how high up I am. Awesome. Can I walk a little bit? I want to start walking right now."
Details: The soldier admitted that he had been dreaming of walking on prostheses since the day he was admitted to hospital. He described himself as "a little impatient" and said that if he had been able to, he would have walked to the centre himself the very next day.
Background:
- Kostiantyn spent almost 500 days in the grey zone on the Kupiansk front. During a move to a backup location, his brother-in-arms went missing, and Kostiantyn himself sustained severe injuries in February 2026.
- Kostiantyn had to amputate his own feet, which made it impossible for him to return from his position. Despite his injuries, Kostiantyn continued to carry out combat missions, including covertly observing Russian forces.
- In October, the defence forces carried out the first-ever medical evacuation of a wounded soldier using a heavy UAV. Kostiantyn spent less than an hour and a half in the air on board and covered a distance of 16 km.
- "Alex", the reconnaissance chief overseeing UAV operations for the 2nd Mechanised Battalion, where Kostiantyn served, said: "The soldier was exceptionally quick-thinking and determined to survive. We had already dropped off his equipment and instructions. When the quadcopter approached, he did everything exactly as instructed, as quickly as possible. There was no panic or hesitation – the whole thing took just seconds and went exactly to plan."
- Kostiantyn was later taken to hospital, and the president conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine on him.
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