"I went to war for future of our children": story of soldier from Hostomel who lost leg at front
28-year-old Maksym Marchenko lived in Hostomel in Kyiv Oblast before the full-scale invasion.
He went to the front as a volunteer. He was wounded near Soledar on 23 August 2022, according to the Nezlamni ["Unbroken"] rehabilitation centre.
Maksym worked as a mechanic at the Antonov Serial Production Plant. When the Russians invaded his native city in Kyiv Oblast, he managed to get his daughter and mother out.
The man saw how the occupiers shot civilians and hid in the basement for several weeks.
After the liberation of Kyiv Oblast, he served at the 93rd Mechanised Brigade. He served in Donetsk Oblast.
He said that he was injured while performing a combat mission.
"The infantry was working, and we were providing the fire support. Everything was covered with mines, and I carefully controlled every step. I stepped on ‘clean’ ground, and at that moment I was blown up. The mine was covered with earth," Maksym recalls the tragic events of 23 August.
Comrades-in-arms provided him with first aid, and then combat medics evacuated Maksym to the hospital. When the wounded man's condition was stable, he was transported to Dnipro and later to Kyiv and Lviv.
"I have never met such a strong-willed, motivated and active man. His indicators for eight weeks are excellent. He quickly learns new exercises. We mainly work on his coordination. In May, Maksym kept his balance on one leg with his eyes closed for six seconds; as of now, it's a full 60 seconds!" Oleh Bilianskyi, the head of the Centre, says.
Maksym will soon receive his first training prosthesis, almost a year after the injury. He dreams of returning to his 7-year old daughter after completing rehabilitation.
"I went to war for the sake of a bright future for our children, so that they would not see what I saw," the soldier adds.
Background: The miner Serhii went to the front after the beginning of the full-scale invasion. He lost a limb during a heavy battle in Donetsk Oblast. He said that it was as if he had gotten out of hell.
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