"He found the footage of a drone closing in rapidly on a buggy, Vladislav standing exposed at its rear on a Russian military social media channel. The 31-year-old, an arbitration lawyer before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, makes a double whistling noise to describe the drone's ominous progress. That's me, he says, pointing at the video, filmed from a fibre optic drone, chasing him down with terrifying ease as the vehicle slows for a corner."
"Still conscious, he could see the injury to his left leg was obviously very serious. But this was not his immediate priority. To be honest, I checked my crotch, if everything's in the right place, he says, grinning. The check was affirmative and so in that moment, the stricken soldier says, he reasoned life was worth still living. Only after that, I turned my tourniquet. That choked off the blood supply to his left leg, giving himself a chance of survival."
Vladislav, a 31-year-old former arbitration lawyer, lost his left leg after a Russian fibre optic drone pursued and struck the buggy he was riding near Lyman on 21 August. He discovered the footage on a Russian military social media channel and mimicked the drone's approach. An explosion threw him and the driver to the ground; he checked for vital injuries, applied a tourniquet, and briefly lost consciousness. He experienced a white tunnel vision, was revived by a comrade, and survived. Dozens of seriously wounded Ukrainians requiring amputations receive care at a specialist treatment centre where rehabilitation activities occur.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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