Ukrainian defender, Belarusian volunteer from the battalion of Kastus Kalynovsky, 28-year-old Oleksiy lost his leg during the defense of Bucha , and still rushes to the front again.

He told the Belarusian media “Dzerkalo” about the consequences of the Russian shelling and his rehabilitation.

The fighter says that he knew that sooner or later full-scale hostilities would begin in Ukraine.

“I was preparing for them, so I had the feeling, ‘Well, I said so.’

The first serious battle

The first serious clash between the occupiers and Ukrainian defenders took place on March 3 on the outskirts of Bucha. There, Alexei lost his leg.

“At some point we were surrounded. A Russian shell flew into the complex where we were. The guys next to me fell: their legs were cut off. I was thrown forward. I was without a helmet, I don’t know how anything hit me in the head. I think I’m lucky. I tried to get up, but I realized I couldn’t. I looked at my leg, and it was dangling from a piece of skin and tendons. I only had a few fingers moving, “he said.

Alexei recalls that with his right hand, to stop the bleeding, he put a tourniquet on his leg. A little later, one of the guys dragged him to a safer place.

“When a person goes to war, he understands: this can happen. I decided: it’s good that I lost only one leg – I can move normally. Honestly, the situation was not easy. It seemed to me that we were unlikely to escape, and I even recorded a farewell video. I wanted to leave something in case my phone was found. My relatives already know that I feel for them, why repeat it before death? I was focused on the battle. I did my job: I killed some of my opponents. “, – the fighter told.

According to the Ukrainian defender, if a person does not feel fear in such situations, there is probably something wrong with him. But fear can be controlled, which he did.

“Why be afraid of death? Sooner or later it will happen to everyone. It is an honor for a man, a soldier, to die in battle. It would be much worse for me to die of some disease. The next morning I learned that the boys had escaped. They were defending about 12 hours. Five people died that day. It was an emotional moment for my wife. I reassured her: I said that everything was fine and that this was a standard situation. People live without legs, “Oleksiy said.

The fighter recalls that for the first three days it seemed that the phantom pain passed him, but then it started. For about a month, Alex was sitting on morphine.

“The pain was so unbearable that I was injected with morphine 3-4 times a day. My leg hurt, which is not there. I understand that now I am a very dubious warrior, but when a stump is formed, I will be given a combat prosthesis. it won’t end, I will be able to take part in fights. And while I help guys with organizational processes, I share combat experience “, – Alexey told.

He celebrated his birthday in hospital a week after losing his leg. Friends came to him, their faces were very tense. The birthday boy had to reassure them: “I said: everything is fine, there is a lot of work ahead. Life goes on.”

“Victory Day is still difficult to imagine. There is a lot of work ahead. When we liberate all the occupied territories, we will need to rebuild Ukraine, build a strong country that, if necessary, will be able to repel Russia’s ambitions. And they in Russia, I think, will never disappear “, – Alexey summed up.