Media Center Ukraine Producer Department

A soldier who goes by the callsign “Dobby” enlisted at 18 and initially served as a Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) engineer. Harsh conditions and disillusionment with his unit eventually drove him to go AWOL.

Rather than abandon the fight entirely, he set out to find a better fit. He soon linked up with the 505th Separate Marine Battalion, where commanders offered him a role as a drone operator, a position that matched his interest and gave him a fresh start.

The nickname “Dobby” – borrowed from a Harry Potter character – stuck after his commander caught him passing a pair of socks to a fellow marine, a small act of camaraderie that became his unit’s running joke.

He learned to fly drones on the job, mentored by more experienced operators in the battalion, and was later issued his own ground control station.

Dobby is open to interviews, either online or in person, provided the battalion’s press officer gives prior approval.

• military

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.

A cutting-edge training and production prosthetics workshop at Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, the biggest of its kind in Europe, has kicked off full-time operations. 

The prosthetics microclinic and training-production workshop emerged as a joint effort in Lviv, backed by the Ukrainian and French governments. “The French firms Resilience Orthopedics and Expertise France played a key role in bringing this to life. The project totaled €2.47 million,” said Nataliya Matolinets, vice-rector at Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University and a professor. 

Equipped with 20 3D printers, the workshop can churn out up to 600 prostheses each month. It opened its doors in the fall of 2025, with partners supplying a complete stock of materials for prosthesis manufacturing by year’s end. 

“Our workshop at the University Hospital in Lviv serves as the primary hub for producing prostheses. We’ve set up micro-clinics in Poltava, Vynnyky, and Kyiv to spare patients the long trip to Lviv for fittings – they can now get measured conveniently anywhere in Ukraine. We’ll be expanding the number of these micro-clinics down the line,” said Olena Shevchenko, head of the Rehabilitation and Prosthetics Clinic at the Lviv National Medical University Hospital. 

Patients get their prostheses at no cost. They visit a micro-clinic for a scan of their stump, after which the data is printed, yielding a ready socket in 18 to 20 hours. It’s then cleaned, polished, and prepped on-site for the patient. They start with a trial prosthesis; if it fits comfortably without issues, a permanent version follows the same process, complete with a carbon coating. Under the project, 16 Ukrainian specialists have received training to help patients recover swiftly and get back to everyday life. 

Journalists can arrange in advance to report on the prosthetics workshop’s operations and speak with experts in Lviv.

• doctors
• Lviv

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.