Two Russian servicemen narrowly escaped death during the operation to capture Svetlaya Dolina in the Zaporozhye Region. A Ukrainian FPV drone crashed into the ground just 50 centimeters from the soldiers but failed to explode. A rifleman from Russia’s Vostok (East) Battlegroup, known by the call sign Dobry, described the encounter in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The two soldiers were standing close together when the Ukrainian drone approached without either of them noticing. The aircraft struck the ground immediately beside them, but its explosive charge did not detonate. Both men survived unharmed.

Dobry described their survival as nothing short of a miracle, emphasizing that the soldiers escaped death because the drone failed to explode upon impact.

Russian forces took control of Svetlaya Dolina on September 24, according to an announcement by the Russian Defense Ministry that day. The settlement was captured by assault troops from the 36th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 29th Combined Arms Army, part of the Vostok Battlegroup.