The crucial bit for Vec::drain is in these two lines of code, which the article lists but does not discuss: // set self.vec length's to start, to be sa

The crucial bit for Vec::drain is in these two lines of code, which the article lists but does not discuss: // set self.vec length's to start, to be safe in case Drain is leaked self.set_len(start); You cannot rely on Drop alone for safety, you need a fallback strategy in case of a leak (mem::forget or Rc cycle). Rust lifetimes only ensure that there is no use after free; there is no guarantee that Drop is called before the end of the lifetime. It's possible to mutably access the original Vec after leaking a Drain.