Russians threw a grenade in his dugout: the story of a soldier who lost his arm in combat

Ivan Yasiuk, 42, from Volyn, joined the defence of Ukraine in early 2023. Ivan was the commander of a flamethrower unit.

He was assigned to the Kupiansk front, the Nezlamni (Unbroken) National Rehabilitation Centre says.

In late August, Ivan was injured in one arm. 

"The enemy stormed our positions. They used everything: ammunition, drones and even banned chemical weapons," he recollects.

The Russians, who were a few metres away from the Ukrainian positions, threw a grenade into the dugout Ivan was hiding in. He felt a sharp pain and saw that his arm was hanging limp. Ivan put a tourniquet on it himself and headed for the evacuation point.

But due to the constant artillery shelling, the evacuation vehicle was unable to leave for a long time. It was seven hours since the tourniquet was applied when paramedics managed to take Ivan away.

During that time, he lost a lot of blood. His arm had been bleeding for so long that doctors had no choice but to amputate it.

Now Ivan is working on his recovery every day with a physiotherapist. 

Ivan, who used to be a construction worker in civilian life, wants to return to the house he built with his own hands and be with his two daughters.

Read also: A young soldier saved a wounded brother-in-arms after two shells exploded in the trench – photo

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