The story of a 29-year-old soldier who lost a limb, but returns to the army

29-year-old National Guardsman Denys, while on duty in Luhansk Region on May 9 of this year, stepped on an enemy mine, as a result of which he lost his right leg.

Less than three months later, the man wore a prosthesis and took his first steps without crutches. Now he dreams of returning to the army, the Dnipro Brigade of the National Guard named after Major General Oleksandr Radievskyi reports.

At the front, the soldier received the call sign “Denchik”. In 2020, the man resigned from military service in the National Guard, where he served under a contract for 8 years.

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At the end of February 2022, the man decided to mobilize and rejoined the army.

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“I met at home on February 24. First, at 5 a.m., a colleague called me and told me that there were air raids on one of the military facilities near my house. After 3-5 minutes, another dialed and reported that the war had begun“, Denys recalls.

The man underwent additional military training, after which he went to the front.

He joined the 31st Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine Denys, and assumed the position of chief sergeant of the second operational battalion.

“For a certain period, we in Donetsk region were preparing for the defense of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, and at the same time we were additionally performing tasks in three regions. We passed through Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions“, – says the soldier.

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The most difficult was last winter near Bakhmut, says Denys. And also near the village of Zorynivka in the Luhansk region, where he was wounded on May 9.

“During one of the combat missions, my brother and I were walking in the forest – he is the first, I am behind and stepped a little left-right and came across an anti-personnel mine“, – says “Denchyk”.

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Screenshot from the video of the Dnipro brigade of the NSU named after Major General O. Radievskyi

He recalls that when he recovered from the explosion, he wiped the sand from his eyes, saw that there was no foot and applied a tourniquet.

Then the man regained consciousness on May 10 in a hospital in Sloviansk.

“The manager then told me: I understand everything, I’m glad that people come to you every day, but I don’t have to stand in line behind them to make you a bandage“, Denis smiles.

The rehabilitation process began with boxing. The man says that this sport helps to learn to keep balance without a limb. It also helps to prepare for the prosthesis.

On August 6, Denis took his first steps on a prosthesis without crutches.

Screenshot from the video of the Dnipro brigade of the NSU named after Major General O. Radievskyi

“I found myself overcoming some of my fears to go and defend the state. I do not believe that I will not be able to find the strength to resume my full life.

I want to return to my unit, to the brigade, and I hope that I will be able to perform the relevant tasks in the position I was in. I feel at home there“the man added.

It will be recalled that the serviceman who was seriously wounded in mid-February 2023, when a bullet stuck near his heart, recovered and returned to the front.

Read also: “Screamed from pain so that the surrounding villages could hear”: the story of a soldier who lost both legs at the front. PHOTO