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

Ivan Yasiuk. Photo: UNBROKEN Ukraine/Facebook

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. 

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“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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