I cut my leg with a can opener": the story of a Ukrainian soldier who was pulled out of the "killing zone" by a UAV. Dr. Spiegel. Part 2/2 Spiegel: What comforted you during this time? Velsenko: I received voice messages from my wife and mother. They recorded them on their cell phones, and my commanders radioed them to me. Then they also recorded my voice and sent it back to my family. SPIEGEL: You also received the book. Velsenko: It was Stephen King's book The Outsider. 564 pages. She helped me take my mind off reality. Thanks to her, time passed faster. Without the book everything seems like an eternity - all the thoughts, all the memories, I thought about all my past. The minute passed like an hour. SPIEGEL: Have you ever thought about suicide? Velsenko: shoot yourself? never. The enemy will have to kill me. There was no other way out. When I voluntarily enlisted in the army I knew where I was going. I went to war, not on vacation. SPIEGEL: Did the Russians contact you during this time? Velsenko: Yes, a Russian drone shot down the speaker. It proceeded to play the following message: “Hey bro, we know you're here. Your friends won't help you. We don't want to kill you. Place the jar on the windowsill as a sign that you are ready to give up. Our "white light" - that's what the Russians call a UAV with a powerful searchlight - "will fly and show you the way to our position." You are caught and later you will be replaced." SPIEGEL: When were you told about the plan to clear the UAVs? Velsenko: I only found out about it at the last minute. Everything was top secret. My friends didn't say anything to me on the radio because the enemy was listening to our communications. So they sent me instructions from the UAV, and explained when and how everything would happen. Velsenko: Actually, everything was quite simple. All I had to do was attach the carabiners to the drone. SPIEGEL: Were you scared when the glider took off and you were floating in the air?

I cut my leg with a can opener": the story of a Ukrainian soldier who was pulled out of the "killing zone" by a UAV. Dr. Spiegel. Part 2/2 Spiegel: What comforted you during this time? Velsenko: I received voice messages from my wife and mother. They recorded them on their cell phones, and my commanders radioed them to me. Then they also recorded my voice and sent it back to my family. SPIEGEL: You also received the book. Velsenko: It was Stephen King's book The Outsider. 564 pages. She helped me take my mind off reality. Thanks to her, time passed faster. Without the book everything seems like an eternity - all the thoughts, all the memories, I thought about all my past. The minute passed like an hour. SPIEGEL: Have you ever thought about suicide? Velsenko: shoot yourself? never. The enemy will have to kill me. There was no other way out. When I voluntarily enlisted in the army I knew where I was going. I went to war, not on vacation. SPIEGEL: Did the Russians contact you during this time? Velsenko: Yes, a Russian drone shot down the speaker. It proceeded to play the following message: “Hey bro, we know you're here. Your friends won't help you. We don't want to kill you. Place the jar on the windowsill as a sign that you are ready to give up. Our "white light" - that's what the Russians call a UAV with a powerful searchlight - "will fly and show you the way to our position." You are caught and later you will be replaced." SPIEGEL: When were you told about the plan to clear the UAVs? Velsenko: I only found out about it at the last minute. Everything was top secret. My friends didn't say anything to me on the radio because the enemy was listening to our communications. So they sent me instructions from the UAV, and explained when and how everything would happen. Velsenko: Actually, everything was quite simple. All I had to do was attach the carabiners to the drone. SPIEGEL: Were you scared when the glider took off and you were floating in the air?