Soldier Volodymyr, call sign PSYCH

My name is Volodymyr, I'm 37 years old, call sign PSYCH.

In the first days of the full-scale invasion, I went to the military enlistment office on my own. I received a summons and waited another week for assignment to a unit. By March 2, I was already with the 59th Brigade, military unit 1619, in the ART division.

For over 9 months, I participated in fierce battles in Mykolaiv and near Kherson. On December 1, 2022, we were rotated and moved to the Donetsk direction. In February 2023, I was transferred to the infantry of our brigade, to the 10th Battalion.

On March 25, 2023, I was wounded in Pervomaisk, near Maryinka.

That day was my eldest daughter's 15th birthday. I wasn’t supposed to be on duty that day as I had just returned from another position a day earlier and was supposed to have two more days off.

The battalion commander came to us and said, "There's no one else but you. We need to help the neighboring battalion for two days".

The first three days were calm. This wasn’t our position, so we didn’t know it well. On the fourth day, at 6 a.m., they started storming us. I was working with an RPK (machine gun) from a window.

We repelled two morning assaults. Then, around 8 a.m., they started targeting me with a tank. My machine gun was a problem for them. Two hits landed nearby, and the third hit the wall behind which I was sitting.

The wounds were in such places that tourniquets couldn’t be applied. In this condition, as seen in the photo, I spent 14 hours on the position without pain relief or medical assistance. I was preparing to die. Then I remembered that it was my daughter's birthday, which motivated me to survive.

Two hours after being wounded, only one of my comrades dared to pack my shoulder. Then I walked 4 kilometers under fire.

The battle was ongoing the entire time. The Russian positions were 50 meters from us.

I lost a lot of blood, and as I walked, I kept myself from losing consciousness, thinking I must not fall because I knew I wouldn't be able to get up again.

We were walking and could hear the Russians. They were running nearby. But we made it.

I was the most severely wounded.

I sustained a mine-blast injury and a closed traumatic brain injury. My face suffered the most (a gunshot fragment wound to the lower lip and left chin with significant tissue damage, a multi-fragment fracture of the lower jaw) and injuries to my left lower and upper limbs.

I've been undergoing treatment for over a year. Surgical interventions, rehabilitation. The wounds have healed, but another surgery on my face is still planned. While waiting for it, I’m working on restoring mobility in my upper limb.

I currently need rehabilitation at the  Zakhidnyi Rehabilitation and Sports Centre of the National Committee for Sports for the Disabled People of Ukraine to return to a full active life.

 

As part of the "Rehabilitation of Cyborgs" program, the rehabilitation course of Volodymyr, call sign PSYCH, was paid for.

Rehabilitation goals are aimed at restoring physical and functional capabilities and improving general physical condition after injury, with the ultimate goal of returning to military service.

 

COLLECTED AND TRANSFERRED: UAH 90,000