First Steps After Donbass

The War in Donbass caught many Ukrainians off balance under different circumstances. Some of them, soldiers and volunteers, did what they considered to be right at that moment – they stood up to it in their way. As the result they were severely injured.

Their lives changed forever afterwards: long and exhausting treatment, losing normal skills and the way of life they were used to, re-evaluating everything around. They have something in common: all these people had an opportunity to get treatment and rehabilitation abroad.

From February 2015 till July 2016 about 30 injured Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers spent some weeks in small groups at an Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä near Vienna. Their aim was to get the best practices of using their prostheses and to take their first steps after Donbass.

Injured Ukrainian soldiers waiting for their wounded friend during the short walk in the garden of the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2015.
Injured Ukrainian soldiers Andriy and Oleksandr during their daily exercises in the gymnasium of the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2015.
Wounded Ukrainian soldiers Oleksandr Babchenko and Oleksandr Sarabun discussing their prothesises for the first time in the room they shared in the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, February 2015. Oleksandr (to the right) was injured during the Battle of Ilovaysk in August 2014. After having spent 3 days in the pro-Russian separatist captivity he was freed and transported by the Red Cross to a military hospital.
Injured Ukrainian soldiers left the dining room for a short break after their first lunch in the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, February 2015.
Ukrainian soldiers Anatoliy and Serhiy in a garden of the rehabilitation centre after three weeks of their training program. They are looking forward to meeting a few Ukrainian visitors to have an evening gathering before they leave for Ukraine the next day. St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2016.
Injured Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr Kovalskyi at the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2016.
Evgenij Sitenko, a member of the volunteer Aidar Batallion, attending Belvedere Palace in Vienna on Sunday, August 2016. He was heavily wounded during the Donbass conflict.
Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Kraslanskij in the courtyard of the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, June, 2016. Dmytro was heavily wounded during the battle at Savur-Mohyla, a strategical important hill in Donetsk region close to the Russian-Ukrainian border. After having spent about 1 year in a German military hospital and falling twice in coma, he returned to normal life and learned to walk again.
Wounded Ukrainian soldiers Volodymyr Kovalskyi and Anatoliy Fateev playing football in the garden of the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2016. The war left them without feet.
Injured Ukrainian soldiers Anatoliy and Volodymyr having a picnic in the garden of the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2016.
Injured Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr preparing his prothesis after a small adaptation for his next walking training in the gymnasium of the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2015.
Injured Ukrainian volunteer Oksana Nezalska taking her first steps on both prothesis in the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2015. She lost her legs during the transportation of humanitarian aid in Luhansk oblast in the summer of 2014.
Anatoliy Fadeev was a sapper in the Ukrainian army. He lost his two legs stepping on a mine during his mission in Donbass. Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2016.
Injured Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr watching a movie during his short break in the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2015.
Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr Kovalskyi is buying new shoes at the end of rehabilitation period in Austria. His old sneakers had been worn out during a long process of heavy daily training. Frauenkirchen, July, 2016.
Anatoliy Fateev was a sapper in the Ukrainian army. He lost his two legs stepping on a mine during his mission in Donbass. Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2016.
Ukrainian soldiers Dmytro, Eduard, Jevhen and Serhiy are prepairing their prothesis to put them on just a few minutes before their meeting with Ukrainian community in Vienna, June, 2016. The room of a Ukrainian library in Vienna served as a checkroom for the Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Kraslanskij has just started his daily training routine in the garden of the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, June 2016. He is being followed by a nurse and a Ukrainian volunteer.
Ukrainian Army captain Oleksij during a daily regular nursing care in hospital in Vienna, March 2015. The successful surgery on his left foot in Austria saved him from amputation. Captain Oleksij was injured during the exit of a colum of a Ukrainian military vehicle column from the city of Debaltsevo (Donetsk oblast) in Janury 2015. Today this city is under coltrol of the pro-Russian separatists.
Ukrainian volunteer Oksana Nezalska having her daily training in the garden of the Austrian rehabilitation centre in St. Andrä am Zicksee, July 2015.