Soldier Artur Dolhov, callsign POVAR

From the first day of the full-scale invasion, on February 24, 2022, I voluntarily went to the Shevchenkivskyi Territorial Recruitment Center in Kyiv. Before that, I worked as a builder and lived an ordinary peaceful life. But when the enemy stepped onto our land — there was no other choice.

I was mobilized and first assigned to the 241st Territorial Defense Brigade, later served in the 207th, then the 205th Battalion, and currently — in the 1228th Engineering Battalion. We worked in different directions — Lyman, Kupiansk, and near Dobropillia. At first, I served as a rifleman and grenadier, later I built fortifications.

In August 2025, during movement under combat conditions in the Kharkiv region, tragedy struck — a road accident. I was a passenger, and right after the impact, I almost immediately realized something was seriously wrong: my body stopped responding.

An ambulance first took me to the Kharkiv Military Hospital, and later to the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Western Region in Lviv. The diagnosis was severe: complicated spinal cord injury, spinal cord contusion at the cervical level, tetraparesis. For a long time, I couldn’t move — only my eyes, and the thoughts in my head that I must not give up.

Now I am slowly getting back on my feet. I can walk — slowly, but by myself. However, my hands still hardly respond. And right now, the most important thing for me is to restore the mobility of my arms — to be independent again, to be able to hug my loved ones, to dress myself… to live.

I need rehabilitation at the Western Rehabilitation and Sports Center of the NSIU. This place gives hope — they work with soldiers who have endured the most difficult injuries. But the path to full recovery is long and costly.

I am forced to ask for help so that I can regain the movement in my arms and return to a normal life.
 

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The foundation’s team has been observing Arthur’s recovery from day one at the «Western Rehabilitation and Sports Center» of the NCSIU. We see how persistently he moves forward every day. Rehabilitation after injuries of this level is a long and painstaking process that doesn’t end with just one course.

The center’s specialists reached out to us with an important recommendation: Arthur needs a second course of rehabilitation. The first one is still ongoing, not even completed yet, but it is already clear that interrupting the process would be a mistake—especially at this stage, when the body is just beginning to respond to the exertion.

Specialists explain that Arthur still shows signs of specific consequences of a spinal cord injury. He experiences issues with thermoregulation and trophic disorders. The swelling in his left arm remains significantly greater than in his right. That’s why in recent weeks, the specialists have been actively working to restore the range of motion in his wrist and fingers on the left hand.

His right arm has almost fully come back to life this month. That progress is clearly visible. It is becoming more functional, and for Arthur, that’s a major victory. But the left one needs more time. And more structured effort. Only then will both arms be able to move in sync. And that will improve his overall level of functioning. Hands give a person control over life, over daily tasks, over the small things that shape dignity and independence.

Without continued rehabilitation, the progress may stop. And we cannot allow that to happen. Arthur is fighting with full honesty. He completes every exercise, misses no sessions, and all the while preserves that particular inner calm that people carry after going through war and pain.

That is why we are opening a fundraiser for the second course of rehabilitation. So he can continue his recovery without pauses, without losing progress, without the risk of backsliding. So that both hands can return to function. So that he can live independently. So that he has a chance to reclaim the simple movements that make a person free.

We ask you to support Arthur. This is one of those cases where help literally becomes movement. A warm touch of the left hand. A step forward.

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The fundraiser for rehabilitation for Artur Dolgov, call sign POVAR, has been closed. The need has been paid, and the course has been completed.

We thank everyone who was there those who donated, those who shared, and those who wrote warm words of support. All of this came together into real support that Artur could lean on throughout this time.

Special thanks to our friends and reliable partners at British‑Ukrainian Aid. For stability and trust. It was thanks to you that this fundraiser was fully closed.

We thank the team of rehabilitation specialists for their calm, daily work and for the results that speak for themselves: reduction of swelling in the hands and fingers, better range of motion, more strength and endurance. Step by step. Time in tests decreased, walking became more confident, balance is stable, and arm movements are much faster. Progress is especially noticeable in the left hand, which was stubborn for a long time. It’s still a journey, but one that is already being felt.

• “Timed Up and Go” test: was 6.4 sec, now 6.3 sec
• 10‑meter walk test: was 5.4 sec, now 4.6 sec
• 6‑minute walk test: was 560 meters, now 568 meters
• Dynamic Gait Index: was 20 points, now 23 out of 24 possible
• 9‑peg test: was – right 44 sec, left 2 min 20 sec; now – right 34 sec, left 1 min 13 sec

We are grateful to the head physical therapist of the center for a clear assessment and belief in the potential for recovery. The rehabilitation goals have been partially achieved, but this is a significant result from which the next stage begins. Artur has been recommended to continue an individualized rehabilitation program with a focus on active physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Ahead of Artur is recovery and the road to a full life. Not fast, not simple. But real. And we believe that with this kind of support, it will be traveled.

Thank you. For your humanity. For your action. For your faith.

 

COLLECTED AND TRANSFERRED: UAH 180,000