Soldiers Pull Eight Civilians From Lyman Under Drone Fire

Eight civilians escaped enemy lines in Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, following a two-day military operation conducted by the 63rd Separate Mechanised Brigade. The group included an elderly woman, three individuals using wheelchairs, and a man with a severe leg injury. All eight reached safety after soldiers coordinated a complex extraction under active fire.

The 7th Company of the 3rd Mechanised Battalion organized the mission after completing a combat assignment. A ground team consisting of French and American legionnaires, identified by the callsigns Flash, Cowboy, Spad, Chandra, and Fanta, led the push through hostile territory. Aerial reconnaissance units monitored the routes from above to alert the ground team to potential Russian ambushes.

Logistical support came from a mortar battery and a ground robotic systems unit. These assets enabled the group to cross dangerous zones using a MaxxPro armoured personnel carrier. The vehicle provided the necessary protection to move the civilians, including the three wheelchair users, across the front line.

During the final phase of the evacuation, a Russian FPV drone surprised the group and launched an attack. One soldier threw his body over the civilians to shield them, sustaining a serious injury. The reconnaissance platoon rescued the injured soldier shortly after the impact. He survived the incident and was removed from the area.

This operation follows a recent precedent in which Ukrainian forces used a heavy hexacopter to extract a wounded infantryman from the front line. In that earlier incident, the soldier continued to fight off Russian attacks while waiting for the rescue team to arrive. The Lyman evacuation marks the latest example of specialized units combining aerial surveillance with ground support to retrieve civilians from contested zones.