Soldier Iurii, call sign PYSAR

On the 24th of June 2022, on my birthday, I was mobilised into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For about a month I was trained and gained experience. And then, as part of the 42nd separate rifle battalion of the Cherkasy Sich Riflemen, I went to perform combat missions in Donetsk region. 

After a year of service, the battalion I served in was disbanded and I was transferred to the 110th Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Khorunzhii (Ensign)-General Marko Bezruchko. We also performed tasks in the Donetsk sector. 

On the 13th of October, 2023, I was defending our positions together with my comrades-in-arms. The enemy was launching an offensive. Unfortunately, their numbers outnumbered us. For 2 days there was a dense artillery shelling by the russians. On the night of the third day, I got wounded.

I remained conscious all the time. Enemy shrapnel pierced my spinal cord, lung and broke a rib. The worst part was the waiting. I was lying there for 6 hours before the evacuation team got to me. Different thoughts were in my mind. The first one was that I should be found by my own people, because falling into the hands of the enemy is the biggest fear.

It took a lot of effort for the evacuation team to get me out of the shelling, because I could not move my legs at all. When my condition was stabilised, I was transported to the city of Dnipro. At the Mechnikov Hospital, I underwent surgery and had the shrapnel removed.

Then my rehabilitation began.

First, there was Ivano-Frankivsk, where I sat in a wheelchair for the first time, then a rehabilitation centre in Irpin.

I am currently in need of rehabilitation at the Zakhidnyi Rehabilitation and Sports Centre of the National Committee for Sports for the Disabled People of Ukraine, because now I need to learn to be completely independent, given my injury. My goal is to learn the technique of driving a wheelchair, overcoming various barriers, climbing stairs, moving from the floor to a wheelchair and much more. I also need to increase the strength of the muscles in my arms, because they are my main moving force now.

 

 

We would like to thank the London Marathon 2024 team and our partner charity British-Ukrainian Aid organization for raising funds.

You can support other fundraisers for the wounded on the website of the Citizen Foundation - https://ctzn24.com/en/heroes 

or on the website of the London Marathon: 

- https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/oleksii--rudenko

- https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/heorhii-roshka

- https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/viacheslav-kulakovskyi

 

COLLECTED AND TRANSFERRED: UAH 90,000