Andrii Hidzun, 29 y.o. 
Novovolynsk, Volyn Region  

From the age of 18 until the day of the full-scale invasion, he worked at a mine in his native Novovolynsk. On March 9, Andrii was drafted into the army. The next day, on March 10, together with his comrades, he was sent to carry out the combat tasks. First He served in the Kyiv region, and then was sent to the Donetsk region, Kirovohrad region, and Mykolaiv region. Near Mykolaiv on April 7 Andrii was injured.

“It was mortar fire. The commander and I were sitting in the car. I, as usual, connected on the military radio . Suddenly, we heard that something exploded near us. We ran out of the car, quickly hid in the trenches, but the attack was very heavy, and we decided to change our dislocation. We ran to the nearest forest, but a mine exploded there”.

Andriy is the only child of his parents. He remembers that the hardest part was not physical pain but to tell his parents about his injury.

“For a long time I could not find words to tell my mother what had happened to me. Three months. I just didn't know how to start, so that she wouldn't take it so painfully. Only dad knew. But I understood that I would not be able to hide. I lost my hand. It was extremely hard, but I had to go home and tell the truth."

A trip to Munich to the office of Open Bionics is one of Andrii's most positive impressions after the injury. He does make decisions for his future. However, one of the first things he will do when he gets a bionic prosthesis is to go fishing with his father and learn how to hold a spinning rod in his new hand.

Andriy is from Rivne region. He studied in Kyiv at the Faculty of Nuclear Physics. On February 24, the 18-year-old woke up in his dormitory and realized there was war. Andriy says he had been preparing for it. Together with like-minded people from the Democratic Axe political party, he walked around the capital, checked bomb shelters, and prepared evacuation lists. The only thing was that he had no military training. The guy was about to go to such training from the Right Sector... February 24. 

- He woke up to a siren. People were running around the dormitory," Andriy recalls. - "I lay there for two hours. I was gathering my strength. Then I went down with the guys to the basement where we took out all the garbage. Then I went to the military registration and enlistment office and from there I went to the unit. For about a month I guarded administrative buildings in Kyiv. It was not clear where the enemy was. We were afraid that the landing force would land. They were well-trained people. They set up an ammunition depot in Beresteyka. For three nights, our soldiers were knocking out this group. The uncertainty of the situation was frightening. We were in Kyiv as an operational reserve.

In the fall, the situation escalated in the Bakhmut direction. We needed reinforcement in the area of Horlivka. So in September, Andriy spent five weeks on the eastern front. "The situation was not very difficult," says Andriy. - "There was something like a TRO of the DPR or LPR opposite. They were forcibly driven out. Our task was to stabilize the situation. 

But after the situation escalated, Andriy's unit moved closer to the road. We were 40 meters away from the Russians. They used their reserves. In particular, the artillery - contract soldiers. Active assaults continued. Attempts to take us in a ring. We had to retreat. And the terrain there is difficult: fields, forests. "Their artillery is working hard," says our warrior, adding, "but we are better. As an example, he cites his fellow soldier who had no military experience but became a very good grenade launcher. With an AGS that can hit at 2 kilometers, he destroyed three enemy mortar crews. 

- The situation remained difficult. On October 25, a mine hit our camp. The leaves had fallen off, so they could see us better," Andriy says about the day he was wounded. - "It was the first time it hit the camp like that. The mine landed a meter away from me. Another wounded man was 50 meters away. I stood guard, ate, drank coffee, talked on the phone with my mom... She heard the explosion, and then saw the turnstile collapse.

"I was carried by four guys, we took a lot of risks. When we were actively shelled, they covered me with themselves. My leg was hanging on a piece of skin. The other one was wounded. My comrades carried me to the road. There was a car there. While I was driving in it, a mine fell next to it, piercing the wheels. But the driver still managed to keep the car. Then I found myself in a medical center. Then - in Druzhkivka. I was most afraid for my comrades. The situation was uncertain. We needed personnel, and then several of them got out of service.

In Dnipro, I spent several days in intensive care. Then I found myself in Lutsk, where I thought I would get a prosthesis quickly. It turned out that I had to undergo another surgery. Due to the poor interaction between doctors and prosthetists at the public clinic, I was told that my knee had to be removed. Rehabilitation is a complicated topic in general. Fortunately, in Lviv I got to good doctors who said they wanted to save my knee." 

In mid-May, Andriy joined the Superhumans. He admits that in the first days it was painful and difficult. But in a week, the negative feelings disappeared.  Compared to the second week, it's like heaven and earth. Andriy recently proposed to his beloved. He made the ring himself - from a shell casing. Together they paint pictures, put them up for charity auction, and donate the proceeds to the needs of the military. The guy says that his parents expected him to go to war. They tried to dissuade him. But, says Andriy, "I would never forgive myself for that." After his discharge from the army, the soldier wants to return to his studies, although they are difficult, Andriy says, laughing.

Denys Kryvenko (24 years old) was born and grew up in Kropyvnytskyi, Kirovohrad region. In his hometown, he worked as a moulder at the Metalist factory. He was on vacation when the full-scale invasion started. The man couldn't believe the news until he saw the warplanes in the sky. 

First, he helped his mother and his younger brother and sister to get to a safe place, and then he went to the Military Commissariat. It was the beginning of March 2022. 

"They took all necessary information from me and told me to wait for a call. In two weeks, they told me to pass the medical check-up. Then the military service started," he recalls.

Denys Kryvenko fought on the front lines as a part of the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade. He was injured in January 2023 when with his comrades they defended the road to Bakhmut from the enemy. 

"We were covering the retreat of the unit when we came under fire. I realised that I had lost both legs and an arm. I was conscious. My comrades put on tourniquets and carried me 2.5 kilometres to the evacuation point. On the way, I laughed and cried, and said goodbye to them, and sang the national anthem of Ukraine," the soldier shares his memories.

Later, he remembers himself in the intensive care unit. In 5 days he tried to sit down. As soon as he felt the power inside, he started rehabilitation. 

"The prosthetist told me to fill out the Superhumans application. I applied to several programs, but Superhumans were the fastest to offer me help. Now I have already received prostheses, and I train every day to return to an active life," says Denys Kryvenko. 

The man has many plans. He wants to help defenders with psychological adaptation, and he is preparing to get the necessary education. Also Denys wants to teach the basics of fighting tactics. He also has many dreams. Denys wants to start driving a car as soon as possible, because he likes to do it, and also he plans to ride a bicycle. "I know it is possible and I will achieve it!" - Denys Kryvenko is confident about that.

Dmytro Fedorko: "You have to walk, but without crutches!" 

This conversation with Dmytro Fedorko took place on May 26, 2023, at the Superhumans Center in Lviv. The man is from the village of Tomakivka, Dnipro region, which was shelled by Russian missiles last night. One of them hit the hospital. At least 2 dead, 15 wounded... 

- "My house is still a hot spot," says Dmytro. - "The enemy is shelling us from Enerhodar. That's why my first priority is to go there. I may have to take my family with me. They called me today and said everything was fine, but...

Dmytro has a wife and two children. His son is 16 and his daughter is 12. He is 38. He is a tractor driver by profession, but mostly worked on construction sites. In 2004, he did his military service. In the 20s of March 2022, he received a call-up and joined the army. 

- "I had just finished all the housework at home and left," Dmytro recalls. 

"I ended up in Cherkasy. He joined the 4th Tank Brigade as a platoon combat medic. After a month of training, he was sent to the Donetsk sector. According to the warrior, his unit is still there, or rather, what's left of it...

Dmytro stayed there until October 16. It was then that he was wounded near Bakhmut, where our military had to repel enemy positions. But a mine hit... Dmytro gave himself first aid, a fellow soldier put a tourniquet on his leg, an evacuation vehicle arrived, but his leg was still amputated. In Druzhkivka. 

In the morning I called my family and told them I was in the hospital. They came to Dnipro. In Kyiv, they sent me to a military hospital in Lviv for prosthetics. I ended up in Pustomyty. There, someone told me about SuperHumans, saying that I could apply. We found out the details on the Internet. I stayed here for up to a month. On the day of the interview, Dmytro was released from the Superhumans Center, but he will definitely return here in the near future, as he is waiting for a foot that will fit him best.

Dmytro Lysenko (37 years old) lived in the village of Nesteryanka, Zaporizhzhiia region. He was married and had a 6-year-old son. Before the full-scale invasion, he worked as the chief engineer of the utility company "Zhytloservice" in the city of Orihiv. He went to defend Ukraine as a volunteer. At first, he helped to place anti-tank hedgehogs and blocks. Then he fully joined the Ukrainian Army. 

"I know my area well, and as they say “my hands are from the right place”. I can assemble and disassemble the car myself. That's why I understood that I would be useful," he says. The family was evacuated to relatives in Zhytomyr Oblast, actually when the occupation started.

He was wounded on duty when together with his comrades came under enemy fire. Despite the pain, he applied a tourniquet and called the driver. Unfortunately, when help arrived, medics could not save his comrades. Dmytro Lysenko was taken unconscious to the Orihiv hospital.

In addition to the lost leg, the man had several other injuries, so he needed multidisciplinary medical assistance. Finally, he was sent for rehabilitation to the "Halychyna" center in Lviv, from where he got prosthetics at Superhumans. 

"I want to live peacefully in a free Ukraine," says the defender about his dreams. He adds that he cultivates his share of land in his native village Last year he planned to harvest a new type of wheat. However, no one will collect it now - the land has been shelled and mined. 

"Well, it's okay, we'll win and start again," concludes Dmytro Lysenko.

"My plans? What am I dreaming about? I want the war to end. I want to help it as much as I can now. And in the future, I want to rebuild Ukraine. I am a builder. And I will do it as much as the prosthesis will allow me! I will not be able to build, I will go to study to be a foreman, an instructor, but I will do it!” 

Mykhaylo Bartoshyk, 31 years old. 

He has been living in Lutsk for 5 years, originally from the village of Uhrynychi. Has a wife, Nadia (which means Hope).

Before the full-scale war, Mykhaylo worked in the Czech Republic. In production, where catalogs with fabric samples are made. He worked in a shop where covers are made, and his wife - in a neighboring shop, where they deal with internal filling. He returned to Ukraine in April 2022. 

- When the full-scale war started, I told my wife that I have to come back to Ukraine, I was conscripted, - says Mykhailo. - Men take an oath twice: the first time when they become conscripts, and the second time when they get married... My wife wouldn't let me go, we quarreled at night because of it. Went to work.

Later, Mykhaylo's parents called and said that he was on the lists in the village council, and that he was being summoned to the Military Commissariat. "I could not go," the man reflects, "but my wife said that when you are already on the lists, then you will go." I said: I’m going." He stayed at home for about a month, Mykhailo was supposed to be summoned on May 9, but something changed. And already on May 28, he was taken into the army. He got into the 14th brigade stationed in Volodymyr. And literally in a week, Mykhaylo got to the Bakhmut direction. - 

There I was a part of a unit that was defending near the village of Berestov, - Mykhaylo recalls. - I was there for a month. First - a week. Then we were taken out. Then - two weeks. And it turned out that at first it was quiet, my brother in arms and I decided to go and see what was there, how it was there... And then the tank left. We had a single tree standing there, he hit it, and the fragments flew right at us. My right hand was cutted off immediately.

The shelling continued. Mykhaylo called for help, but no one heard. According to him, most likely the boys were also silenced. Then he took his hand, ran 7-8 meters to the dugout, where he saw Serhiy. "I give him my hand, he looks at me - his eyes are like that," Mykhailo recalls, still wondering. - Then he put a tourniquet on me, and then I probably lay in that dugout for more than 6 hours." 

An enemy drone was hovering over the positions of Mykhaylo's unit, and the commander ordered not to risk lives and to wait, as well as to provide assistance as much as possible. Mykhailo was conscious. Heard almost everything. When it got dark, the brothers began to evacuate him. First - by car, then - by ambulance, he was taken to Druzhkivka, and around the 23rd they began to provide medical assistance. 

- The next day I came to my senses, - says Mykhaylo. - They gave me a phone, I turned it on. My wife, who was in the Czech Republic, started calling. But I couldn't talk because my jaw was split open. I gave the phone to the nurse and she asked if it is possible to tell my wife everything as it is? I shook my head, and she told me that I was without an upper limb and that I was being sent to the Dnipro.

According to Mykhaylo's wife, hearing this was very difficult. But at work, she was very supported by the Czechs and Ukrainians who work there. She was told to take her time, go to work a little and take it easy. Nadiya did so, but within a week she came to her husband to Dnipro together with Mykhaylo's father. Mykhaylo says that it was somewhat unexpected for him. 

"My aunt still lives in Dnipro," Mykhaylo says. - My mother asked her to come to me and help. I could not eat as usual. Could only eat broths. I had my jaw tied for two months. 

After two weeks in Dnipro, Mykhaylo was sent to Lutsk. His wife accompanied him there and was with him until September. And after the defender was transferred to rehabilitation center in Velykyi Liubin in the Lviv region, the man said that he already takes care of himself and eats, so his wife can return to work.

Mykhaylo learned about Superhumans from Oksana Lytvynenko from Kharkiv, who cooperates with the rehabilitation center in Lubin and with various prosthetists. 

- I said that the most important thing for me is that it should be done quickly and with high quality. But I understand that in my case it doesn't happen quickly, - Mykhailo says with some caution about his prospects. - I follow Superhumans, but I understand that everything is a little more difficult with the hands. Because I don't have a limb up to my shoulder. Both I and people with similar amputations really want this process to speed up. We understand that it's a lot of work, and that's why we're rooting for Superhumans and similar centers!

Mykola Yefimenko "The city of Obukhiv, 

I was born there, I hope that there... I will not continue." 40 years old. 

Divorced. There are children - the eldest is 18 years old, the youngest is 12. 

- Before the full-scale war, I was on contract in the army. And before the contract, I worked at a factory. Obuhiv cardboard and paper plant. I have been in the army for mobilization since the 14th year, from the first day of the war, with breaks, though. Served in the 72nd brigade. He was both surrounded and captured by the russians for two days, in short - a lot happened, - Mykola says. - When the full-scale invasion began, I was in the 101st brigade under contract - guarding the General Staff, I was directly in Kyiv, in the General Staff. But then he transferred to 72 and went to the East. I am in the 72nd and served a term in 2001, more than half of my colleagues are there.

Many people stayed in the field, of course... But you get used to it...

When there were fewer of these "bad-looking men" in Kyiv and the region, - continues Mykola, - then I transferred to the 72nd and went to Bakhmut first. From there we were transferred to Vugledar. There we accepted Aydar's position. And already on the 4th day I was injured. 

I don't know what exactly flew in, because everything was flying there. The first three days were close battles, because the "green men" took the positions in which we did not want to see them at all. And then, after we knocked them out, on the fourth day, they began to attack us from everything in a row. There were tanks, mines, and "air". Because what exactly flew into me?... The guys say that it's a mine. Others are tanks. But I think that if a tank, I would definitely be taken apart, I saw how a tank takes people apart. Therefore, most of all - a mine. It was August 14.

Mykola talks about the consequences of the injury as follows: "I have an amputation of my left arm above the elbow joint. And on my right hand, I have torn off the first finger and cut out ... the bone of the second finger. Well, the fragments from the legs and bodies were already being picked up. Everything has already come to life." 

Regarding the injury, the soldier thinks as follows: "Injury is expected. Should have arrived sooner or later. How much is possible? 9th year of the war. Relatives accepted normally, adequately. I won't say that they were happy or that they didn't care. But without shouts. Because what happened in 14, 15, 16 years, it had to happen sooner or later."

Mykola's sister learned about Superhumans. "She read it somewhere. She also applied, - says Mykola, - Because when she did it, I didn't move my right hand yet. That is, I was completely without hands. 

It's better now, I've already developed my hand." When asked about his plans, the man answers as follows: "The war is not over yet." I'll see how I get on with the prosthetics. My contract is not over yet. If possible, I will continue to serve... And after the war, I will go to my factory. I work as a foreman at the plant - my profession is civilian." 

As for photographs, I don't have them from my civilian life, - says Mykoal. - And from the military - I have a photo with my brother. He died about two months after I was wounded. There, in those positions. My countryman. Served together since the 15th year. I have such a photo. This photo can be exhibited, it is no longer a problem. I will not be captured by russians a second time.

Petro Buriak (39 years old) was born and grew up in the Lviv region. He graduated from vocational school No. 53 in Lviv, where he studied to become an auto mechanic. The man did not serve in the army, in recent years he worked as a truck driver. The news of a full-scale invasion shocked him during his work trip in Spain. Petro says that he decided to defend the country without hesitation. He called the director, cancelled the scheduled work trips and came back home.

Petro Buriak joined the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Danylo. He was a driver and performed tasks together with a group of sappers. 

The man received his injury in the Kherson region (06.09.2022) as a result of an anti-tank mine explosion. "I got the most. My comrads were thrown 15 meters by the blast wave. They suffered minor injuries. I don't remember anything after that. I regained consciousness in a hospital in Odesa," the defender recalls. He lost both legs and fingers on his left hand 

He was in an induced coma for three weeks, and was on the verge of life and death 5 times. "No one believed that I would survive, except my relatives, but I got out," says the man. He adds that he feels the support of his wife and 5-year-old daughter every day.

After getting prosthetics at the Superhumans Center, Petro Buriak not only plans, but is returning to an active life. Currently, he has established a charity organization to help his comrads. "I really want all Ukrainians living abroad to return home. I have visited 62 countries and I am convinced that my children should live in their free, successful state!" - ensures the defender.

Ruslan Petrov - civilian. 

He is 23 years old. 

The guy is from the city of Izyum, Kharkiv region. 

There is a girlfriend, they started dating before the full-scale invasion. Before that, Ruslan worked in Poland, but he came home on December 26, 2021. His visa was about to expire. The guy submitted documents to the visa center, but he did not have enough two days to leave again. Due to the beginning of the great war, such centers were closed and nothing was achieved.

Ruslan lived under occupation in Izyum for 200 days. His father is a military man who has been fighting since 2014. Because of this, the russians captured Ruslan three times. He was there for two or four days. He was questioned about his father. He was beaten with a stun gun, a rubber stick, shot from an air pistol and beaten with truncheons. Ruslan's mother was told that they would now take him to be shot. They put a bag on his head, put pressure on his psyche to the last - until Ruslan said where dad was. 

And when Izyum was liberated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ruslan and his girlfriend went to the village where they now live to cut firewood. At the end of the garden there is a landing (small forest), there are dry trees. They were sawing firewood, and Ruslan came across an RPG (anti-tank grenade launcher) projectile with the saw. Ruslan took it in his hands and it exploded. It happened on December 27, before the New Year.

Doctors saved Ruslan's palm on his left hand. But he lost a parts of his thumb and index finger. On the right, the middle finger has aged to the level of the nail and half of the index finger. There were also shrapnel wounds on the body - on the arms, legs, and head. Doctors saved Ruslan in Chuguyev, because when everything happened, they called an ambulance, but did not wait for it, but got into the car and drove to meet him. When they arrived, the medics said: they didn't tell us that you had an explosive injury. We were told you have a fever. 

Ruslan got out of the car and told everything. He saw bones sticking out of his hands. The guy was in overalls. Therefore, he did not see blood on his body and legs, but he felt that it was flowing there. Therefore, he asked the medics to cut open the clothes and examine them completely. Despite other injuries, the fingers were the most affected.

Relatives reacted normally to it. The girl supported Ruslan during the entire month he was in the Chuguyiv hospital.

 He found out about Superhumans, as he says, by accident. “I was looking for a place to apply for prosthetics. Can anyone help. And by chance I came across the news that our center will be opening soon. Ruslan filled out the questionnaire and that's how he got to us. He says that as far as he understood, he will soon have titanium fingers”.

 Before the full-scale war, Ruslan was engaged in motor transport and motocross. He had a lot of motorcycles until russia came and took everything away.

Regarding the plans after prosthetics, Ruslan says that he is unlikely to be able to do everything the same as before the injury. For example - to do motocross. "My boys and I used to get together and go on long-distance trips," the boy recalls. - Together in Izyum, they made a track in a chalk quarry, before the war they organized a competition. There were participants from different cities. No one expected that this would happen... And the occupiers made a shooting range on that road, dug up everything, broke it."

But he still plans to get on a motorcycle and ride again! That is why he needs the future prosthesis to provide the opportunity to take the wheel well.

Also, the guy has a common business with his friends - they buy cars, repair them, tune them and sell them for more money. Therefore, according to Ruslan, the prosthesis will help him a lot in the future to deal with this business.

Valentyn Lytvynchuk (36 years old) was born in Zhytomyr region. He is a professional soldier. He has been serving since 2005 and he is a lieutenant colonel. Valentyn does not like to speak much. In the first days of the full-scale invasion, he was engaged in the defence of Kyiv. Later he transferred to the 5th separate assault battalion.

He received his injury during an operation in which he led the battle (30.10.2022). Due to the explosion of a tank shell, the defender lost his left leg and 4 fingers on his left hand. He called his wife from the hospital. A 4-year-old daughter was also waiting for dad at home.

He underwent all the necessary operations, and he is currently completing prosthetics.

"My dream is to walk with my daughter, holding her hand. I can stand already", - Valentyn Lytvynchuk says. After rehabilitation, he plans to continue his military service, where he can use all his knowledge and skills to protect Ukraine.

Valentyn Vodolazkyi (40 years old) is from the town of Popasna in the Luhansk Region. Together with his 80-year-old mother and brother they grew vegetables, grapes, raspberries and planned to expand the family farm. The man had a disability and he underwent hip replacement surgery on his left leg. Valentyn had a rehabilitation period before the full-scale invasion. 

"We have been at war since 2014, shelling was regular, so we did not force the departure. I thought, first I would go to Bakhmut by myself. I planned to get settled, then I would take my relatives," the man recalls. However, when the massive shelling of the city began, they decided to leave together.

Valentyn was injured during the evacuation. He was the first to go to the gathering point on a special bus when the shelling began. People were actually in the open area. "There was no place to hide, at one moment I felt a shock, and after that, I could not move my leg. It was a leg after surgery.  My brother applied an improvised tourniquet. As soon as the bus arrived, it was full of people. They put me on the floor in the aisle, there was no more space," the man shares his memories.

Then he underwent several complex surgeries and amputation. Unfortunately, the doctors could not save the left leg. The family was sent to Lviv. Now they live in a modular town for relocated people. 

"I applied to various prosthetics programs and honestly, I didn't even wait when I got a call from Superhumans and they joined me in the program in Germany. The specialists there were very detailed, measuring down to the millimetre. I can already walk 1 kilometre every day. Thank you sincerely for everything you do," he says. 

He does not make plans until the rehabilitation is completed. He worries about the condition of the other leg. He would like to return to his own farm and continue growing crops on family land. However, the native home is ruined by russians. The family is waiting for the deoccupation and the Victory of Ukraine.

Vitalii Ivashchuk, 24 y.o 

Zhytomyr region Vitalik has a large family -  3 sisters and 2 younger brothers. His 20-year-old brother Oleksandr serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Vitaly himself signed a military contract after his 18th birthday. He wanted to protect his country from school years: 

“It started in 2012, when there was Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine. I was a 10th grade school student at the time, not everyone in the village had access to the Internet, so I ran away from the lessons to the teacher's office to watch live broadcasts from the main square in Kyiv, Maidan Nezalezhnosti,  on TV. I remember how proud I was of my country, all I wanted is to be there and fight for my future”

And then the war started. At that time the first person I knew to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was my girlfriend's ex-boyfriend. And when he came to the village for the first time wearing his uniform, I tried it on ... Those emotions are impossible to describe! I was so excited, so I decided to be a soldier and to defend my land. Three months after my birthday, I went to the Military Recruitment office and signed a contract." 

After 4 months of training, in September 2016, Vitalik went to the front line in the Donetsk region.  He served as an APC driver-mechanic. Two years later, Vitalii was injured by an enemy sniper. 

“It happened on December 25, 2018. The first feeling, after being injured, was that I lost my hand, because I did not feel it. Later it turned out that the bullet damaged my nerve plexus, so my hand did not function for a long time. The muscles atrophied. I was operated on, stabilized and sent home, like on vacation. There was no rehabilitation at all, because at that time we did not have such rehabilitation centers as there are now. 

After two months at home I decided to start my service again. I provided my rehabilitation and recovery by myself: I was doing some exercises for my hand, and trying to lift more and more heavy things. In fact, I made it by myself because there were no other possibilities at that time. I know some guys who have good medical treatment and rehabilitation, and they think it's always been that way, but it was not. Years ago there was not even a hint of such a thing - neither psychological nor physical rehabilitation. None at all.”

“I was in Poland at work. On February 24, at 4:30 in the morning, I came home from the night shift, opened the Telegram, and read that Putin started the war in Ukraine. I watched a video of the first explosions and could not believe - is it really true? I dialed my friend Yurii in Ukraine and asked what was happening. He was still asleep, he answered that nothing was happening, everything was fine. The war started. Wake up, Yurii, I told him.” I could neither eat nor sleep from overreaction. I immediately ordered a ticket to Zhytomyr for 4 pm. They told me in the bus company that I could only go to Lutsk, not to Zhytomyr.  It was no longer so important the city - the main thing was that it is in Ukraine! I was going to fight for my country.” 

Immediately from the bus, on the morning of February 25, Vitalii went to the Military Recruitment Office in the Zhytomyr region. And two days later, as part of a combat unit, he was sent to deter the enemy in the Zhytomyr region. Then they moved to the Kyiv region - near the Makariv-Borodyanka highway. And after the de-occupation of the region in the spring, they were redeployed to the front line in the east of Ukraine. 

“I believed that I was an experienced soldier. As I said, I served in Ukrainian flashpoints, for example Avdiivka industrial zone in March 2017. There were situations when we had close fights, and there were 70 meters between me and the enemy. However I had never seen so many artillery weapons as I saw in 2022. They released a full volley of shells every 1.5-2 minutes. They used "Tornadoes", "Hailstorms"... It was a very strong impression. I realized that until this day I had not fought at all.”

“I was wounded in the next village during a tank assault. Our walkie-talkies were running low, and my brother and I went to take batteries from the  soldiers at neighboring positions. I heard that tanks were coming, when they were 200 meters from me. It looked like they were going specifically to our post, but we could not count them. Therefore, I took a grenade launcher and decided to wait behind the bushes until they came out, and I lost the right moment.

“The next day after the amputation, we were getting dressed in the morning. My comrades proposed to help but I wanted to manage myself. I understood that I had to adapt. Well, for 5 minutes, if not more, I put the T-shirt on, I struggled terribly, but I put it on. I don't need help if I don't ask for it myself. If I see that I can't help myself, I will definitely say so.

“After the New Year, we got in touch with Superhumans and almost immediately went to Munich to the OpenBionics office. There we went through all the procedures, showed us how it worked, and gave me a try. When they put on the prosthesis, I didn't want to take it off!!! I was so impressed! Like a baby! Euphoria, ecstasy! How to describe it? Well, you didn't have a hand, but now you do!)) Like a toy in childhood: when you really wanted a toy and they finally bought it for you. You walk with it, eat with it, sleep with it. When I get my prosthesis, the first thing I will do with this hand is a joint and a cup of coffee.  Now it is a really complicated process. I can't drink coffee and smoke at the same time (laughs). And after rehabilitation, I will go back to my comrades at the front. In general, I asked my commander to hold a place for me the next day from the hospital.  My hand is completely restored, I go to the gym, work on myself. My motivation: to recover and to come back”.