Themes by tag: casualties

Konstantin Kartavtsev has been on the front lines defending Ukraine since June 2022. Over that time, he has suffered multiple injuries and concussions. On April 16, 2023, while pulling fellow soldiers out of danger, he lost a leg. After months of rehabilitation, Kartavtsev returned to duty in December as a sergeant in the 95th Separate Air Assault Brigade.

Despite his injuries, Kartavtsev found a new passion. In August 2023, still adjusting to a temporary prosthetic, he took up golf. He joined United by Golf, an adaptive sports club that helps service members, veterans, their families, and people with disabilities through the game. Since its launch, the initiative has brought more than 800 veterans into rehabilitation programs, with 55 vets training regularly.

Kartavtsev quickly excelled. Last year, he competed in the International Championship for Golfers with Disabilities in Germany, finishing among the top 10 players in the final standings. Golf has since become his favorite pastime.

On August 19 this year, during a meeting in Washington, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented Donald Trump with a golf putter on Kartavtsev’s behalf. The U.S. president accepted the gift and later recorded a video message thanking the Ukrainian soldier.

By prior arrangement, journalists may meet Kartavtsev in Kyiv.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale invasion, Tymur ran his own business selling sauna accessories.

In the first month of the great war, he baked bread for the troops. By December 2022, he joined the 1st Separate Assault Battalion named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo and served in the Dyke Pole reconnaissance company. In September 2023, near Bakhmut, Tymur stepped on a landmine and lost his leg. 

After evacuation, treatment, and rehabilitation, he has been confidently using a prosthetic limb for eight months. He recently underwent another surgery and is currently continuing his recovery.

Tymur is available for interviews online or in-person in Zaporizhzhia, by prior arrangement. On August 24, he will participate in “MOVE ON SPORT: Sunset Swim”, a charity swimming event at a lake near Lviv.

• casualties
• military
• Lviv
• Zaporizhzhia

When russia launched its full-scale invasion, Nazar Bokii enlisted in the Ukrainian army. He served as an infantryman with the 135th Battalion before taking command of a UAV strike team.

In May 2025, a russian drone strike left him gravely wounded. The attack cost him both arms and an eye. Evacuated from the battlefield, he spent weeks in intensive care before beginning a long course of rehabilitation.

Today, Bokii is learning to use prosthetic limbs, supported every step of the way by his wife. He has also launched a blog, sharing his experiences of life after injury and the challenges of recovery.

Nazar Bokii is available for in-person or online conversations in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

Kyrylo, 32, from Kryvyi Rih, and Svitlana, 27, from Zakarpattia, are both volunteers. They met during the first year of the full-scale invasion while traveling to a training ground. “She came up and asked if there was a seat on the bus. For a girl like that, there’s always a spot,” Kyrylo recalls about the beginning of their story.

Both ended up in the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. She served as a combat medic, he as an infantry company commander. Together, they went through a lot — fighting in Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Donetsk oblasts. Kyrylo was on the front lines, while Svitlana was on combat duty and evacuations. That’s how they started dating.

The proposal also happened at the front — on the Lyman axis in 2023. Kyrylo decided there was no point waiting for the “right moment” because, in war, anything can happen. The couple got matching tattoos of the same yellow bus where they first met, with the inscription “Love your fate”. They got married and continued serving as a military couple.

Kyrylo suffered a severe injury this May in Donetsk oblast — he stepped on an explosive device and lost his left leg. Now, he is undergoing rehabilitation and prosthetic treatment at the UNBROKEN Center. For the past two months, he has been working with physical therapists, learning to use his new “iron leg”. After completing rehab, he dreams of starting a veteran-owned business with Svitlana.

• casualties
• military
• women
• Lviv

Mac Hughes, a Canadian from Calgary, arrived in Ukraine with his father, Paul Hughes, shortly after the start of the full-scale russian invasion. The pair began volunteering and founding a Kharkiv-based NGO called H.U.G.S. – Helping Ukraine – Grassroots Support.

Over the next three years, father and son evacuated civilians from frontline towns, repaired military vehicles, and delivered humanitarian aid to communities under fire. Mac spent more than eight months in the Kherson region, providing critical supplies to residents in need.

In March 2024, Mac enlisted in the Ukrainian army, serving alongside Ukrainian soldiers in their war against russian invaders with his unit in the Zaporizhia sector. Four months later, in July 2025, he sustained severe injuries when 30% of his body was burned. Following the evacuation, he was treated in four different hospitals and is now recovering in Kyiv, where Paul continues to care for him.

Mac and Paul are available for interviews in Kyiv, either in person or online, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale invasion, Oleksandr Honcharenko repaired sports equipment. When the war began, he started volunteering — delivering humanitarian aid across Kharkiv and the surrounding region. Later, he joined the military.

In the fall of 2022, Oleksandr suffered a severe arm wound when his crew came under enemy fire. After multiple surgeries, doctors managed to save his arm.

During rehabilitation, Oleksandr began developing a special training device for wounded soldiers. His invention resembles a treadmill with an overhead frame featuring support straps for arms and legs — essentially an adult walker. This machine helps injured soldiers regain independence, allowing them to walk without external assistance. Oleksandr is now working to patent his invention and plans to increase production in the future.

You can speak with Oleksandr Honcharenko online or in person in Kharkiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Kharkiv

The Lavka Deokupatsii (De-occupation Shop), a volunteer initiative based in Kharkiv, offers vegetables and other goods cultivated by residents of the de-occupied territories in the Kharkiv region.

The project’s primary aim is to help revive local agriculture and foster economic self-sufficiency in the village of Studenok, located in the Izium district on the border of the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. Studenok remained under russian occupation for more than three months, beginning on May 31, 2022. As part of the effort, the initiative provides residents with seeds, greenhouses, and assistance in marketing and selling their produce in Kharkiv.

Currently, two retail locations operate under the project, where customers can purchase cucumbers, green onions, young garlic, carrots, zucchini, new potatoes, and fresh honey sourced from farmers in the de-occupied areas. The stores also offer canned vegetables, jam, and cheeses from the village of Khotimlia, which has also been liberated.

Beyond local sales, the produce is regularly shipped to other parts of Ukraine, with items available at partner-run fairs. The project has also established partnerships with restaurants in Kharkiv and Kyiv.

This September, project co-founders Nataliia Artiushenko and Meriam Yol are scheduled to present the De-occupation Store at Young Chefs, an event in Kyiv that brings together chefs, restaurateurs, and culinary startups.

Journalists wishing to report from Kharkiv can schedule a visit in advance.

The De-occupation Shop is a project of the Volunterska Charitable Foundation.

• casualties
• occupation
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

Anastasiia Astafieva is considered one of Kyiv’s leading specialists in tattooing and tattoo removal. Following the start of russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine, she treated a serviceman who wanted to eliminate an old tattoo. His face also bore remnants of gunpowder residue that had become lodged deep in his skin after a blast.

Astafieva attempted to remove the embedded residue with a laser typically used for tattoo removal. The advanced laser therapy results were visible after just one session. After several more, the soldier’s skin was fully restored. Impressed by the outcome, he encouraged other servicemen to seek her help. 

That marked the beginning of her work with those recovering from blast-related injuries. Today, Astafieva treats both military personnel and civilians affected by war, removing not only gunpowder but also soot and soil that have become embedded in their skin during explosions. She provides these treatments free of charge.

Anastasiia Astafieva is open to interviews both online and in person in Kyiv.

• casualties
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

In Kyiv, two sled hockey teams Sokil and Start have taken shape, each made up of veterans who have undergone lower limb amputations. Every team has eight players, and training sessions are held three times a week.

The teams recently competed in the All-Ukrainian Para Ice Hockey Championship.

Journalists can attend and report on training sessions in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

For reference: Para ice hockey, also referred to as sled or sledge hockey, is an adaptation of the sport for athletes with amputations or limited lower limb function. Players move across the ice on specially designed sleds, using two short sticks fitted with spikes on one end for propulsion and blades on the other for controlling the puck.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Illia, call sign “Lieshyi”, joined Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade in September 2023, just after turning 19. Despite suffering multiple injuries in combat — any of which could have ended his service — he chose to keep fighting on the war’s most dangerous frontlines.

In March 2025, his life changed forever when a russian kamikaze drone dropped an explosive directly on his position, inflicting wounds so severe that both his legs had to be amputated above the knee. The armored vehicle evacuating him was also hit by an FPV drone, but against all odds, Illia survived. After emergency surgery, he reached out to the “Angels” patronage service of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, who took him from the hospital and arranged his long-term rehabilitation.

Now, Illia is preparing for advanced prosthetics treatment in the U.S. — and dreams of returning to military duty once recovered.

You can contact Illia online or offline in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv