FIRST ON FOX – Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine cut Denys Kryvenko’s vacation short last year. A 24-year-old mold-maker from Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Kryvenko, who joined the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade after evacuating his younger siblings, is now a triple amputee recovering at the Superhuman Medical Center near Lviv, Ukraine.
After four surgeries, above the knee amputations on both legs and losing his left wrist, Kryvenko is now holding an iPhone in his only working limb – a right hand and says he remembers every minute of the attack that saw him disabled. It was near the embattled city of Bakhmut his unit came under fire, and seconds later, Kryvenko realized he lost both legs and his life would never be the same again.
“My comrades carried me over to evacuation point, more than two kilometers from where I got injured. On the way there, a roller-coaster of emotions hit me. I was first crying, then hysterically laughing and cursing, I said goodbye to my comrades and sang our national anthem,” Kryvenko recalls.
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According to Stavnitser, almost every other amputation must be redone, as initial amputations take place on the frontlines.
“It is horrible. I know a guy with 19 re-amputations. His amputation started with the wrist, ended up with his shoulder. And it’s not very uncommon,” Stavnitser says.
Denys Kryvenko is a triple amputee undergoing rehabilitation in Ukraine’s newly established Superhumans Medical Center. After four surgeries, above the knee amputations on both legs and losing his left wrist, Kryvenko is now learning to walk again.
According to Superhuman’s data, roughly 15,000 individuals are in need of prosthetics in Ukraine as the Russia’s invasion grinds on.
Fifteen months into Russian’s invasion, Ukraine anticipates the number of its veterans will grow by 10 times.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Ukraine’s Minister for Veterans affairs Yulia Laputina said her agency had about half a million veterans registered prior to the Feb. 24 invasion.
Denys Kryvenko, right, is one of the first dozen patients undergoing rehabilitation at the Superhumans Center – a newly established medical center aiming to become Ukraine’s first venue for reconstruction surgeries. Before the Superhumans Center was established, patients had to travel to Europe and the U.S. for treatment. (Superhumans Center)
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Another trend the minister mentioned was the age of veterans. “This war brings new veterans, people from 30 to 50-years-old, people who shall be integrated in the society and given a chance of self-realization.”
Because of Russia’s indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure, the demography of the wounded is no longer bound to military and veterans. The Superhumans founder told Fox News that, unlike many previous wars, this war has new casualties.
“If you fall down, you must get up. I already learned these basics; more practice is ahead to overcome the fear of falling,” he says.