Soldier Andrii Dudnyk, call sign KOT (meaning CAT)

I first joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in September 2019, signing a contract to become a driver of a mortar platoon of the mortar battery of the Air Assault Battalion of the 79th Brigade in Mykolaiv. I was 25 years old at the time. I was involved in the defence of my homeland in the Donetsk region during the Anti-Terrorist Operation. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion y russia, I was transferred to the 95th Air Assault Brigade in Zhytomyr.

On 22.06.2022, while performing a combat mission in Donetsk region, near Sloviansk, I sustained severe injuries, namely a complete traumatic amputation of both legs, shrapnel wounds to the arms and an open fracture of the elbow, acubarotrauma and cerebral concussion.

On the battlefield, my comrades rendered first aid, applied tourniquets, and then evacuated me to Kramatorsk. They stabilised my condition and transported me to Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro. There I underwent several surgeries.

I remember when I first regained consciousness, I asked the doctor to call my wife. At that time I did not tell her that I had no legs, I did not want to make her worry.

When I regained consciousness for the second time, my beloved was already there with my 9-month-old son. She confidently said: "Everything will be fine, we are here!"

I was in intensive care for several days, sleeping constantly because I was being anaesthetised for unbearable pain. Then I was transferred to a ward where I recovered and gained strength. My emotional state was very depressed, I didn't know how to live without my legs. But I was supported and helped by my wife, who came to visit me several times a day. Gradually, I came to my senses and became interested in prosthetics. I wanted to get back on my feet and return to my family as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it didn't happen as fast as I wanted.

I was first fitted with prostheses after my injury only 5 months later, in December 2022. I was fitted with prostheses in Lviv, where I underwent rehabilitation and learned to walk.

To return to an active life without restrictions, I have a lot of work to do. Currently, I need rehabilitation at the Zakhidnyi Rehabilitation and Sports Centre of the National Committee for Sports for the Disabled People of Ukraine.

My dream is not just to move freely on prostheses, but to join the Paralympic biathlon team and represent Ukraine at the international level.

 

COLLECTED AND TRANSFERRED: UAH 90,000