A Ukrainian Soldier Was Surrounded. So His Brigade Flew in Drones Carrying Electric Bikes—Which He Rode to Safety.
'Tankist' is one lucky trooper.
A solitary Ukrainian soldier, cut off and surrounded near the city of Siversk in eastern Ukraine after his three squadmates were killed in action, was saved by a drone team that delivered not one, but two electric bikes—and which the Ukrainian survivor, call sign “Tankist,” then rode to safety.
“Like something from the realm of science fiction,” mused Mykola Hrytsenko, a staff officer with the Ukrainian national guard’s 4th Rubizh Brigade.
Tankist was the last survivor of his four-man team after Russian infantry swarmed past his dugout. A stubborn Russian machine-gunner stood watch outside the dugout, waiting for Tankist to pop his head out. A Russian fiber-optic drone sat on the ground nearby, its distant operator also waiting for an opportunity to take off and ambush Tankist.
Tankist’s comrades from the 4th Rubizh Brigade, in touch via radio, brainstormed rescue options. The problem was that “the enemy was everywhere,” Hrytsenko said in an official video.
The best plan they could come up with was to take a heavy quadcopter vampire drone—normally used for night bombing—dangle a $1,000 electric bike from it and deliver the bike to Tankist.
Easier said than done. “It was necessary to calculate the right time of day, the right weather conditions that would allow him to do it,” Hrytsenko explained. “Well, and the weight of this electric bike itself reaches almost 40 kilograms.”
A vampire drone carrying that much weight ranges just two kilometers. But the drone’s operator couldn’t get that close to the front without drawing intensive Russian fire.
So the brigade improvised. It shuttled parts of an electric bike to a position near the front. The soldiers in that position began assembling the bike. The plan was to reattach the bike to the drone for the quick sortie to Tankist’s dugout.
Optimistic
After four or five days alone in his bunker, Tankist was still optimistic. “It was clear from his voice he had hope,” Hrytsenko said. Before he could fetch the bike and ride to safety, however, he had to take out that Russian gunner and the waiting FPV drone.
Tankist’s weapon was jammed. But he had one last grenade. In a feat of extreme skill—or unlikely good luck—the grenade triggered the idling FPV, which exploded and killed the Russian gunner.
Nearby Ukrainian troops popped smoke. The 4th Rubizh Brigade’s small explosive drones swarmed the nearest Russian positions. “We were betting on speed, surprise,” Hrytsenko said. “No one expected such a maneuver from us.”
The vampire angled in with its bike payload—and successfully deposited it atop Tankist’s dugout. But “something had gone wrong,” Hrytsenko recalled. The cables that had attached the bike to the drone were now tangled in the bike’s wheels.
“Tankist—he’s a smart guy,” Hrytsenko said. The trooper quickly fixed the bike.
“With God’s help, I set off,” Tankist said.
Watching via an overhead surveillance drone, the 4th Rubizh Brigade staff urged Tankist on. “Come on, Tankist—accelerate, accelerate!” a staffer barked into his radio.
It was a 400-meter trip to the next Ukrainian position. Tankist was nearly there when he ran into a mine. The blast didn’t hurt him very badly, but it did pop the wheel off his bike.
He limped another 200 meters. “Then the boys ran out,” Tankist said. Tankist’s comrades dragged him into their own dugout. And carefully over the next few days, they moved Tankist toward the Ukrainian rear, leaping from position to position.
But it’s a six- or seven-kilometer walk from the main line of dugouts to the 4th Rubizh Brigade rear area. Vehicles can’t survive the trip, and it was clear Tankist wouldn’t make it all the way home on his own.
So the 4th Rubizh Brigade repeated their original plan—and droned in another e-bike. “Gas, gas, gas!” the staff ordered as Tankist rode off on the final leg of his dangerous journey.
“It took him literally 15 minutes to drive,” Hrytsenko said, “but for us it was like half a lifetime.”
After a week or so of drone-assisted bike-evacuation, Tankist finally arrived in the rear. Safe for now.
