Soldier Viktor, call sign SHEBA

My name is Viktor, but on the front lines, everyone knows me as SHEBA. Before the war, I was just an ordinary man: working, raising two sons, and planning for the future. But the damned war changed everything. In January 2023, I was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. With no prior experience, I became a sapper—a profession where a single mistake can cost you your life.

My front was in the Donetsk direction. There, every day, you’re not just completing tasks but becoming a jack-of-all-trades: a driver, mechanic, and engineer all in one. In the fall of 2024, during a combat mission near the village of Shevchenko, something happened that changed my life forever.

We had installed an electronic warfare (EW) device on our vehicle to protect ourselves from enemy drones. This device saved us when a kamikaze drone flew directly at our group. I only had time to shout, “Guys, drone!” and cover my face with my hands. Then came the explosion, searing pain, and silence…

The blast took my left hand and severely damaged my right. My eardrums ruptured. Despite the excruciating pain, I applied a tourniquet to myself and tried to gather the remnants of the EW device—it could still save others. Thanks to my comrades, we were evacuated. In Zaporizhzhia, I underwent a sanitary amputation, and later in Kropyvnytskyi, they performed reconstruction surgery on my right hand. However, my right hand is still weak and does not function properly, and I am still undergoing treatment.

I’ve undergone multiple surgeries on my hearing and right hand, but the journey is far from over. Right now, rehabilitation is the most critical step. My dream is to regain as much functionality as possible, to once again hold my sons with both arms, to be a pillar of support for my family, and to live a full life.

Specialized rehabilitation at the “Western Rehabilitation and Sports Center” of the National Sports Committee of Disabled People of Ukraine (NSCDPU) is my chance. There, I can regain strength, learn to live with my new reality, and reclaim some of the abilities the war took from me. But it is expensive, and I cannot do it alone.

I am not one to give up. Your support means a step toward my recovery, a chance to return to my children, to a full life.

Like all Ukrainians, I dream of a Great Victory over the enemy, so that my sons can grow up in a free, independent, and strong Ukraine.

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Thanks to the support of caring people, Viktor successfully completed a 30-day rehabilitation course at the “Western Rehabilitation and Sports Center” of the NCSIU.

What was achieved during this month?

  • Improved overall physical endurance and tolerance to exertion.
  • Noticeably enhanced coordination and walking performance.
  • Significant progress in desensitization of the left upper limb.

Here are the real numbers confirming this progress:

  • Four Square Step Test: from 9.85 sec to 6.3 sec (norm up to 12 sec).
  • Six-Minute Walk Test: from 540 m to 634 m.
  • Berg Balance Scale: 56 points – a perfect score!
  • Wingate Test (30 sec) on EXO-bike: from 120 W to 145 W.
  • Maximum power on EXO-bike: from 160 W to 205 W.

Thank you to everyone who helped!

Viktor is not stopping here. There is still a long road to recovery ahead, but now he has the most important things – faith in himself and your support!
 

COLLECTED AND TRANSFERRED: UAH 90,000