Themes by tag: casualties
Oleksandr Ivanko, a retired captain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an aircraft engine engineer, has transformed tragedy into creativity. He joined the military in 2012 and first faced the realities of full-scale conflict during a UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Upon returning to Ukraine, Ivanko immediately enlisted to defend his country.
His service came at a high cost. Ivanko was severely wounded when a Kh-59 missile struck a helicopter, resulting in the amputation of his leg.
Afterward, he underwent prosthetic surgery at the Superhumans Center in Lviv. During his rehabilitation, Ivanko discovered a passion for music. He completed DJing courses and now performs sets while also playing bass guitar in the center’s therapeutic band.
His performances have reached distinguished audiences, including Ukraine’s presidential couple, Volodymyr and Olena Zelenskyy, and Prince Harry during his visit to Ukraine. Ivanko has also shared the stage with prominent Ukrainian acts such as Zhadan i Sobaky, Druga Rika, Tin Sontsya, and the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Lviv National Philharmonic.
Expanding his pursuits beyond music, Ivanko started his own business – an online store offering products for meditation and spiritual practices.
Journalists can arrange interviews with Ivanko in Lviv or online, by prior arrangement.
An open training session titled “A Run with the Strong” will be held in Kyiv on September 27. All are invited to join veterans from the “Strong 300” running club for a community run. This event brings veterans and civilians together to run at the same pace.
There will be a distance suitable for any fitness level. Participants can also look forward to making new connections and hearing inspiring stories of resilience from people who have persevered after the war.
Background:
Organizer: Union of Wounded Military of Ukraine “Strong 300”.
Partner: The Ukrainian Athletic Federation.
The swim was part of the annual international project Neda el Món, which brings together athletes from around the world.
The Ukrainian team, consisting of Ihor Oliinyk, Demian Dudlia, and Maksym Hrinchenko, joined 24 other swimmers in conquering one of the most challenging and unpredictable routes. Despite squalling rain, thunder, and rough waves at dawn, the team persevered. They covered 12.8 kilometers in an impressive 4 hours and 50 minutes.
The veterans are returning to Ukraine on September 26. Journalists can meet with them in Kyiv to hear their thoughts upon arrival. Separate interviews with the participants can be arranged in Kyiv, Dnipro, or online.
Journalists can request photo and video materials of the swim.
More information about the participants is available here.
Background: The Ukrainian team’s preparation was facilitated by the public organization “One Team Force” – a community dedicated to finding effective ways to provide personalized support for the comprehensive recovery of injured soldiers, from initial rehabilitation to long-term social integration.
When russia launched its full-scale invasion, Anton Bohach traded the driver’s seat of his truck for a rifle. Now, after losing his sight on the battlefield, he has found a new sense of purpose at a pottery wheel.
Bohach, a native of Kropyvnytskyi, had long been drawn to the restaurant business. He trained as a food production technologist but ended up making a living as a truck driver before buying his own vehicle and running a small transport business.
That all changed on February 26, 2022, when he volunteered to defend Ukraine. He joined the newly formed 71st Air Assault Brigade. Like most of his fellow recruits, he had never held a weapon before, but he shared their determination to stand against the invasion. Within two weeks, he was deployed to the Kharkiv region, where he fought in some of the war’s earliest heavy battles.
For more than a year, Bohach held defensive positions along shifting frontlines. On September 15, 2023, his service came to a halt when he was gravely wounded. The injuries cost him his eyesight and nearly his life. He spent four months bedridden.
Faced with the darkness ahead, Bohach searched for new ways to rebuild his life. He tried IT courses but found the high-level English proficiency required a barrier. Undeterred, he retrained as a massage therapist, opened a small practice, and then discovered Pottery in the Dark, a program for blind veterans and civilians.
Pottery quickly became his passion. At his home in Kropyvnytskyi, he has set up a small workshop and ordered a kiln. His shelves now hold cups, plates, jugs, and bottles shaped from clay. He also shares his journey with more than 5,000 followers on TikTok.
Bohach’s work will soon reach a wider audience. On September 26, the city of Vinnytsia will host the opening of Art in the Dark, an exhibition showcasing pieces by 14 blind artists studying pottery under instructor Victoriia Nikolaieva. Alongside Bohach, the exhibit will feature works by Ivan Shostak, Serhii Railian, Anton Kuzio, Andrii Kozyrenko, Oleh Derecha, Ruslan Ryzhko, Mykola Kaziuk, Oleh Avtomenko, Andrii Lemak, Nazar Kostetskyi, Diana Kalyna, Ihor Kushniriov, and Denys Zakharko.
Visitors will be able to view the artwork, meet the artists, hear their stories, and purchase their creations.
Bohach says he is eager to talk about his journey, whether in person in Kropyvnytskyi or through online interviews. For him, pottery is not only a craft but also a way to reclaim independence and rebuild a life after war.
Last week, 16 children were rescued from an occupied area as part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, which was launched by the President of Ukraine and carried out with the help of the Save Ukraine team.
- 17-year-old Milana had to wait for her mother, who was held captive in a basement for three days without food or water — simply because the girl’s father is a Ukrainian soldier. She endured searches, polygraph tests, and humiliation, and was threatened with being “dumped in the Dnipro River.” Milana lived in constant fear that her mother would disappear forever.
- 17-year-old Mark went to school and was registered for military conscription. After a “psychological test”, russian soldiers took him and some of his classmates to a military enlistment office without parental consent. The boy nearly became an orphan when a drone hit his parents’ car — they survived by a miracle.
- 2-year-old Solomiia also miraculously survived the occupation. When the girl woke up at night with a fever of 40°C, her mother, Olena, unable to call an ambulance, decided to drive her daughter to the hospital herself. However, russian soldiers refused to let their car cross the bridge, threatening to smash the windows. Olena then carried Solomiia across a pontoon bridge in the darkness.
- The family of 14-yearian Alina barely managed to flee the occupation in time to avoid being left homeless. The occupying authorities threatened to seize their apartment. They were initially refused passage at the checkpoint until the girl deleted all Ukrainian channels from her phone.
Today, they are all safe. They are undergoing rehabilitation, recovering documents, and receiving psychological support and assistance with housing. They now have a roof over their heads and ongoing support.
Journalists may speak with Save Ukraine representatives by prior arrangement.
On September 17, Ukraine will witness a new attempt to set the national record for the “Most unsupported one-leg squats in one minute” near Odesa. The record attempt will be made by 34-year-old war veteran and assault pilot Oleksandr Revtiukh of the 47th Mechanized Brigade ‘Magura’, who has endured the loss of both an arm and a leg.
In 2023, during a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporizhia region, Revtiukh and his unit entered a minefield. A mine first took his leg, and as he attempted to crawl to safety in a state of shock, another mine detonated just a meter away, claiming his arm and injuring his torso. Despite the field being heavily mined, his comrades were able to evacuate him.
Last year, Revtiukh set a national record by completing 34 unsupported sit-ups on one leg within a minute. This year, he is aiming to surpass his own achievement.
The event is open to accredited media only. For security reasons, the precise location will be shared exclusively with credentialed journalists.
Hailing from the Volyn oblast, Mykhailo Grysevych dreamed of a military career from a young age. At 17, he successfully completed a rigorous, NATO-standard selection process to join the Rubizh Brigade. At 18, during the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in Ukraine, he was officially enlisted into its ranks. On December 23, 2018, his life changed forever. Mykhailo was severely injured when he left his trench to replace a tripwire and came under enemy fire.
Mykhailo sustained injuries to all his limbs, yet he remained conscious. The subsequent amputation of his leg, along with the necessary treatment and recovery, was a long and arduous process. It took him four months to sit up for the first time, and six months to take his first step with a prosthetic. To this day, he has limited feeling in his left arm.
During his recovery, Mykhailo began visiting the Bez Obmezhen (Without Limits) Prosthetics Center to have his prosthesis adjusted. There, he learned about an opening for a prosthetist’s assistant and decided to take on the new challenge. The center provided him with comprehensive training and supported his advanced studies in Germany and the United States.
Today, Mykhailo uses his hard-won experience to help wounded soldiers learn to use their prostheses. He has progressed to designing and manufacturing prostheses himself.
Mykhailo Grysevych is available for conversations, both online and in person, by prior arrangement.
Background: The Bez Obmezhen Prosthetics Center is a leading prosthetic and orthopedic enterprise in Ukraine. For over 12 years, it has been a key partner in implementing state programs that provide prostheses and orthoses to people with disabilities, combat veterans, and those affected by the russo-Ukrainian War. The center has locations in nine cities across Ukraine.
Edward, a British volunteer who was severely injured in Pokrovsk, has started treatment to be fitted with a prosthetic arm at the Superhumans Center in Lviv. He has already received a lower limb prosthetic and has recently joined the center’s staff.
Edward came to Ukraine at the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, volunteering to help evacuate civilians from the Donetsk region. In January 2025, a russian drone struck an evacuation vehicle in Pokrovsk while he was driving. The attack left him critically injured, and doctors were forced to amputate both an arm and a leg.
Andrii Prots knew the path he wanted to follow from an early age. Inspired by his grandfather, a skilled carpenter, he took up woodworking himself and eventually built a business producing cabinets, kitchens, and commercial furnishings for shops and offices. His dream was to grow into a mass manufacturer – until russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine forced him to put everything on hold.
When the war broke out, Prots mobilized with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He carried out combat missions in the Serebrianskyi Forest, Torske, Zarichne, and near Lyman. It was while serving on the front line that he learned his wife had given birth to their daughter. He still recalls returning home on leave, dirty and exhausted, straight from the forest, to meet his newborn child.
By 2023, Prots decided to leave the military for family reasons and turn back to civilian life. Almost immediately, he began rebuilding his business. He repaired his workshop, which had been damaged in an enemy strike, and reopened his furniture factory, which he fittingly named “Combatant.”
Over time, Prots realized he wanted his work to serve a greater purpose. He has invested his savings and secured a grant from the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation to buy land and build a barrier-free production facility for veterans with disabilities. He aims to complete construction by the end of 2025 and create a workplace where veterans feel safe, valued and comfortable.
Those who wish to meet with Andrii Prots can do so either online or in person in Lviv, by prior arrangement.
One of the Danish Refugee Council’s (DRC) key missions in Ukraine is conducting civilian humanitarian operations of non-technical surveys and clearing explosive ordnance. The organization also trains State Emergency Service of Ukraine specialists and educates civilians on how to identify dangerous devices.
On September 4, 2025, a DRC team came under rocket fire while conducting purely civilian humanitarian activities – working to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war to protect communities and enable safe access to essential infrastructure, farmland, and homes. The attack killed two deminers and left eight others injured.
The Danish Refugee Council has reaffirmed its commitment to its mission. Despite the risks and challenges, our demining teams undertake this vital work to prevent further loss of life from landmines and unexploded ordnance.
The DRC team is available for conversations online and in person by appointment.
