UNBROKEN Vasyl Hrytsenko, a fighter with the Da Vinci Wolves battalion who lost his leg in the war, surprises physical therapists with his rapid recovery and inspires other patients at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center.

Vasyl Hrytsenko, a 29-year-old soldier from the village of Ivankiv in the Kyiv region, is one of the founders of the Honor Youth Patriotic Movement. As soon as the great war began and the enemy set foot on Kyiv’s soil, Vasyl and other activists of the movement immediately joined the defense of the country and later became fighters of the assault company of the same name in the Da Vinci Wolves battalion, which now bears the name of the fallen commander Dmytro Kotsiubaylo.

Together with the “wolves,” Vasyl has traveled almost the entire front line for over a year. He fought wherever he could. He was wounded in the Kupiansk sector in July 2023. On that day, the Honor soldiers did what they always do – storming the Russian positions. However, they were ambushed. A dense and prolonged firefight ensued. Vasyl was shot – the bullet hit him in the left leg. Our fighters held a circular defense for a long time and could not evacuate Vasyl in time. The soldier stayed with a tourniquet for 3.5 hours.

Alina Mikhailova, head of the ULF medical service, evacuated Vasyl. “When I saw Alina, I got a second wind. I realized that I was in good hands and that my life would be saved,” Vasyl says. Alina Mykhailova also shares her memories of that day: “When people ask me about our last battles without the Da Vinci command, I think it was the hardest day in the life of our battalion. We lost a lot of soldiers then.” In particular, Vasyl lost two of his best friends in that battle.

On the way to the station, Alina and her crew injected Vasyl with half a liter of blood. They managed to save his life. However, Kharkiv doctors still had to amputate the leg, which had been stuck on the turnstile for too long. After several months of treatment, the defender was sent to Lviv for rehabilitation and prosthetics at the UNBROKEN Center.

Here Vasyl has been working with a physical therapist three times a day. He does not miss a single session and asks for additional training. This is although, at first, he was moving around in a wheelchair and was afraid to move even with crutches. It took Vasyl only three days to overcome himself. And very soon, despite the high level of amputation, he not only mastered coordination and confidently stood on one leg, but also boxed – every day right in the rehabilitation room. Vasyl amazes our rehabilitation specialists and social media followers with his lightning-fast successes. But most importantly, his achievements motivate other amputee soldiers to overcome their injuries.

Vasyl has already received his permanent prosthesis at our Center and has mastered walking. Now he dreams of taking his son by the hand and climbing the stairs. With such a high level of amputation, this task seems impossible. But not when it comes to Vasyl. The unbreakable fighter, together with prosthetists, is looking for new technological solutions to maximize the functionality of his artificial limb.

Vasyl also misses his Da Vinci Wolves. The latter follow their comrade’s progress and are very happy about it. According to Alina Mykhailova, Vasyl is a living testament to the will, endurance, and hardiness of Ukrainians.

UNBROKEN Ukraine: treating, rehabilitating, prosthetics, resocializing Ukrainians in Ukraine.