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Video length: 4 min
War in Ukraine: these wounded veterans returning to combat
War in Ukraine: these wounded veterans returning to combat
(France 2)
kyiv admits it suffers from a personnel deficit and is struggling to mobilize new soldiers. The authorities find themselves relying on sometimes injured veterans who return to the front.
For two and a half years, many Ukrainians have been mutilated. Volodymyr, father of two children, was an engineer. He joined a brigade on the first day of the invasion. On October 18, 2022, his unit fought in the Kharkiv region. Seriously injured, he was amputated. After months of rehabilitation, he learned to walk again with a prosthesis. He chose to return to fight and joined a drone unit.
The images of his rescue never leave him. On a minefield, his teammate throws him a rope to rescue him. “I stepped on an antipersonnel mine, it exploded”says Volodymyr, conscious throughout the rescue. At the hospital, a call from his commander lifted his morale. He knows he can be hurt again, but he plans to fight until the end of the war. “I am psychologically stronger”he assures. On the evening of Saturday October 12, he and his unit will return to their position on the front line.
Watch the full report in the video above