A 29-year-old elite drone operator from Ukraine has been killed in action, local media outlet New Voice of Ukraine.
Viktor Stelmakh, a pivotal member of the Ukrainian drone unit, was instrumental in neutralizing over 500 Russian soldiers since the war began. He died on October 18, though the specifics of his death remain undisclosed.
The Ukrainian Army’s 68th Special Forces Brigade said, “Stelmakh stepped up to defend his homeland immediately after the war began. He started as an infantryman and became a drone operator, playing a crucial role in forming the drone unit and training its members.”
Known by his call sign “Sava,” Stelmakh is remembered by his comrades as a “true hero of the battlefield.” Andrii Onyshchuk, commander of the 68th Brigade’s strike aircraft company, paid tribute to him on social media, writing, “He was the best pilot and a brave patriot with an unquenchable thirst for battle. If everyone had fought like Sava, we would have already claimed victory.”
Stelmakh rose to public attention last September when he was featured in a video documenting the Ukrainian army’s defensive operations on the Kupiansk-Lyman front.
The 68th Special Forces Brigade, established following the Russo-Ukrainian War, includes both former military personnel and civilians with specialized skills. Operating primarily in wooded and marshy areas, the brigade has been at the forefront of key operations, including the liberation of Ukrainian villages under Russian control.
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