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Even after severe injuries, servicemen return to duty and to a full life.
Both thanks to their willpower, endurance, and desire to continue serving and support their brothers-in-arms — and thanks to the work of medical personnel at all levels: forward surgical teams, stabilization points, hospital doctors, and rehabilitation specialists.
ArmyInform recalls several stories of severely wounded servicemen of the Security and Defense Forces.
“The girls at the hospital dressed the wounds very carefully”
Yevhenii Kholodnytskyi, in civilian life, was a CrossFit coach at one of the sports complexes in Chernihiv. With the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, he volunteered to join the Defense Forces. During the fighting for Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region in October 2023, he sustained a severe injury.
He recalls his treatment in the hospital as follows:
“I lay there for a long time, I was in pain shock, there were no painkillers. My arms were bandaged, but my legs were not. My face was also wounded, I was bleeding heavily. During that shelling, all of our guys survived. Then there was long-term treatment — hospitals in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kyiv’s ‘Feofaniia’. I remember that the girls treated me in Zaporizhzhia, they were constantly by my side. I couldn’t see them: I lost one eye, and the other was bandaged because it was also damaged. But I remember that they dressed the wounds very carefully”.
After treatment, rehabilitation, and prosthetics, Yevhenii returned to sports, drives a car, cooks, and runs a TikTok account with several thousand followers.
“With a first-degree disability, my public life became more active”
Oleksandr Budko, callsign “Teren,” is a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Before the full-scale invasion, he worked as a barista and studied graphic design.
After February 24, 2022, he volunteered for the front. He took the callsign “Teren” and became a platoon commander of a rifle battalion called “Carpathian Rus.” During fighting in Kharkiv region, he lost his legs and underwent prosthetic rehabilitation.
He took part in a ballet performance by the United Ukrainian Ballet team during charity performances in California (USA). He represented Ukraine at the international “Invictus Games” competitions in Germany. He supports the development of programs and opportunities for people with disabilities.
He is the author of the book “The Story of a Stubborn Man.” He hosts the YouTube project “No Legs, or All Inclusive” and is a participant in the romantic reality show “The Bachelor”.
Oleksandr states:
“Since after the injury I received a first-degree disability, it so happened that my public life became somewhat more active. My involvement in social change also increased as a result”.
“Monaco” and his run on prosthetics
Vladyslav Kurilov, callsign “Monaco”, sustained severe injuries during combat operations in the Zaporizhzhia sector, while serving in a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine.
He suffered gunshot wounds, and tourniquets were applied to both legs for 28 hours. His comrades saved him — they managed to reach the evacuation point. Vladyslav lost both legs.
Then came treatment, rehabilitation, prosthetics, and participation in a charity run. Vladyslav says:
“Even in my dreams, I walk on prosthetics.”
Today, the 24-year-old veteran works as a customer relations manager at the international prosthetics center MCOP Ukraine.
Daily training, he notes, helped him master prosthetics fairly quickly and return to an active life:
“You just must not stop — over time it will get easier. In a year, or maybe even less, you will be able to walk normally. I managed it in four months”.
“Treatment and rehabilitation must be approached responsibly”
Junior Sergeant Oleksandr Rylieiev joined the Defense Forces in 2022. First came combat in the east with the 95th Separate Air Assault Brigade, an injury. Then — demining of his native Kherson region with the 808th Dniester Separate Support Brigade, an explosion, a severe injury, and foot amputation.
From his own experience, the serviceman emphasizes that treatment and rehabilitation must be approached responsibly.
Here is what he said about his treatment after the first injury:
“I was treated in Lviv region; the wound healed quite slowly because it was a dirty injury. A fragment was removed from my neck, my arm healed. Then there were three months of medical leave — although I somewhat wasted my rehabilitation; I didn’t use the time allocated for treatment to the fullest. The injured arm does not bend to full amplitude”.
Then came the second injury, treatment, and plans for prosthetics.
“I will undergo prosthetics at the Superhumans Center. I asked and consulted knowledgeable people — and eventually chose them. I contacted them about two weeks after the injury, in March 2025. They immediately registered me, kept in touch, and called me every two weeks. Prosthetics and preparation for it, the initial examination and tests — all are free of charge. This is a European-level center. The interior looks like something from an American hospital TV series”, — Oleksandr said in an interview in July 2025.
“To fully adapt to life with prosthetics — you need a lifetime”
Roman is 28 years old. In 2023, he joined the 46th Separate Airmobile Podillia Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He sustained severe injuries in early 2024: amputation of the upper limbs. He has since been discharged from the Armed Forces.
Treatment and rehabilitation lasted one year and five months. Roman is now fitted with prosthetics: both two mechanical and two bionic prostheses.
He is independent in everyday life: he does his own laundry, vacuums, and washes floors.
“It’s simple: I toss the clothes in with my feet, set the necessary parameters with my toes, and turn it on. That’s it. And the vacuum cleaner is automatic, controlled through a phone app. It’s a matter of training and time — you can master anything. But to fully adapt (to life with prosthetics — ed.), you need a whole lifetime. There will never be an end”.
Roman also enjoys computer games — for example, he plays Mortal Kombat using… his feet.
Asked what advice he would give to servicemen who have also suffered severe injuries, Roman says it is important to keep living and enjoying life.
“You shouldn’t wind yourself up too much or dive into negativity. Yes, there is a problem, the war continues — but life does not stop. And it is very important not to be ashamed to ask for help when there is some issue, for example with a military unit or during prosthetics”.
“Support is important so that a person does not break”
In civilian life, Artem Hordiienko worked as a locksmith at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant — and already on February 26, 2022, he joined the Territorial Defense Forces.
In the winter of 2024, he lost both arms on the battlefield. He survived two clinical deaths.
During rehabilitation and prosthetics, Artem met a woman.
Twenty-eight-year-old Anna works in the post-acute and long-term rehabilitation department of the Main Military Clinical Hospital. On June 7, 2025, the couple got married.
“…It’s important to have a reliable person by your side. I am very grateful to have Anna with me: I understand that she spends a lot of nerves on me. And after all, it’s physical work… Support is extremely important so that a person does not break. It happened to me very often — when I felt like I was breaking. Especially when it really began to sink in that I had no arms; that I wouldn’t be able to fight or do something myself. But when there are people around — that’s already great”.
