A Ukrainian soldier was given an electric bike from a drone so that he could escape encirclement (video)

It took three attempts to deliver the bike to the soldier

The 4th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Rubezh” told about a unique operation, during which they delivered an electric bicycle to a wounded soldier at the front using drones to help him get out of encirclement. A video revealing the details of the operation was published on the official channel of the brigade .

As Junior Lieutenant Nikolai Gritsenko, the brigade’s chief of staff, a fighter with the call sign “Tankist”, said, he was the only survivor of the four Ukrainian soldiers who held this position. He remained alone in this position for about five days, and was completely surrounded – “the enemy was in front, behind and on both flanks.”

“It is impossible to get there by vehicle, because the enemy is everywhere. He also could not get out on his own, because he had to walk one and a half kilometers to the nearest position. In his condition, with his injuries to his lower extremities, he simply would not have made it,” Gritsenko said.

Gritsenko said his team had developed an evacuation plan that involved delivering an electric bike to the exhausted soldier’s position using heavy drones such as the Vampire or Heavy Shot.

The big problem was weight. For example, an electric bicycle weighs about 40 kilograms. Drones like “Vampire” or “Kazhan” can weigh up to 15 kilograms, “Heavy Shot” can weigh 40, but the flight range is reduced to about 2 kilometers.

Gritsenko said there had been several failed delivery attempts. The first drone was shot down along with a bicycle, and the second crashed because its engines burned out.

He added that the bicycle was first disassembled into parts and delivered to a position closer to the line of combat contact. After that, it was assembled, turned on, and delivered to the soldier.

The Rubezh brigade published footage of a third drone transporting a bicycle using a winch, and footage of a soldier receiving the bicycle.

“We relied on speed, surprise, the silence of the bicycle and, of course, on the courage and bravery of the Tanker himself,” noted Gritsenko.

Gritsenko said that although the soldier had hit a mine on the way, he was able to walk several hundred meters to a nearby friendly position. The brigade said the soldier had evacuated safely and showed video footage of his interview.

“The operation cost us two lost electric bicycles, about 100,000 (hryvnia), and two lost HeavyShot drones, $15,000 each,” Gritsenko said.

He added that the electric bicycles were purchased through donations from volunteers.

“If you see the odd fundraiser for an e-bike or a unicycle, don’t be surprised. It could save a life,” he said.

Situation at the front

Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War report that the Russians continue to advance in the Donetsk region. According to experts, Russian troops have recently advanced in the area of Seversk, Toretsk and Novopavlovka, as well as in the west of the Zaporizhia region.

As CNN writes, the Russians’ recent progress has proven strategically advantageous , creating a threat of encirclement of Pokrovsk, Konstantinovka and Kupyansk in the north. The fall of these three cities would create three serious crises for Kiev.

(C)UNIAN 2025