Asya, an 11-year-old girl, was receiving treatment in her hometown of Zaporizhzhia. Still, her condition deteriorated — doctors insisted on an urgent evacuation to the "Okhmatdyt" clinic in Kyiv.Journalists from RBC-Ukraine shared details of this complex mission, which was organized and carried out within just two days in early March.

"Asya's condition was critically unstable; she required lung function replacement because her own lungs were failing. This was a decisive factor in her fate," said Andrii Vysotskyi, a doctor from Okhmatdyt. The Ukrainian intelligence services — Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) and Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) — were called in for assistance.

"At that moment, no one else could carry out this evacuation," noted Oleh Shchepinskyi, head of DIU's medical department.

A Ukrainian military intelligence helicopter was deployed, equipped with the necessary medical devices for evacuation, including a ventilator, monitors, and defibrillators.

"The best military intelligence personnel, medical staff, and the SBU's Special Operations Center 'A' were involved in the mission. The operation was conducted with the support of the Ministry of Health and the police," said Maestro, commander of the DIU aviation unit.

Asya was transported while connected to a ventilator.

"Our biggest concern was whether we would have to fly during an air raid alert because that would have forced us to land, and we had a limited oxygen supply. The girl was on 100% oxygen. From landing to takeoff, the entire process took about 20 minutes," explained Alts, an SBU special operative.

Asya was successfully delivered to Okhmatdyt. In the following days, special forces officers visited her. They gave her a symbolic toy kitten—an exact replica of the famous DIU cat that intelligence operatives evacuated from Snake Island.

The child remains in intensive care, but according to doctors, her condition has improved, the risk level has decreased, and there is no reason for optimism.