2023-10-02 05:45:05
What hurts the most is not the injury…27-year-old from Ukraine lost both eyes and hands on the battlefield.
42 minutes ago
(Warning: Contains distressing content regarding serious battlefield injuries)
As Ukraine continues its counter-offensive once morest Russia, the number of Ukrainians losing limbs is rapidly increasing.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, 15,000 people were forced to have limbs amputated in the first half of 2023 alone. The ministry would not say how many of them were soldiers. The Ukrainian government is doing everything possible to keep the number of casualties on the battlefield private, but most of the 15,000 people are believed to be military personnel.
Until the end of May, 27-year-old Andriy Smolensky was leading a small reconnaissance group on the front lines in southern Ukraine. Andriy regained consciousness in the hospital, his last memory being that he was trying to get out of the trenches.
In the explosion, Andriy lost both eyes and hands, as well as most of his hearing. Most of his face required plastic surgery.
In September, BBC international editor Ola Guerin spoke to Andriy, who is continuing his rehabilitation at a facility in Kiev along with other injured soldiers, and his wife Alina, who continues to support her husband.
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