Veteran Oleksii Dernov has joined Ukraine’s national team participating in the international adaptive sports competition “Marine Corps & Air Force Trials” in the United States. He was selected based on the results of the Ukrainian Defense Forces HART Games competition held in December 2025.
Sport has always played an important role in Oleksii’s life. Even after sustaining severe combat injuries and undergoing 24 surgeries, he continued to dream of completing a 10 km run and returning to his passion, medieval combat training.
Oleksii Dernov is originally from Znamianka, Kirovohrad region. He volunteered for military service with the 37th Separate Marine Brigade. During his first combat mission in the Donetsk direction, he sustained a mine-blast injury that resulted in the loss of his right arm.
“I was totally injured: I lost my arm, my legs were badly damaged, my stomach was cut, and there was shrapnel in my liver. I was on IV drips 24/7 and in constant pain. I essentially had to learn how to walk again,” Oleksii previously shared.
By the time Oleksii Dernov reached out to Future for Ukraine for prosthetic care, he had already undergone a long journey of treatment and rehabilitation, and his dreams still lay ahead, uncertain. However, driven by his strong will, he was not going to remain in bed when fate gave him a second chance at life.
In 2024, through the FFU program, Oleksii received free upper-limb prosthetic care and rehabilitation at Medical Center Orthotics & Prosthetics in Maryland, USA. He returned home with an advanced prosthesis he could confidently use in everyday life, along with renewed motivation to move forward.
The veteran first resumed training in buhurt — a team-based medieval armored combat sport using blunted weapons. At the same time, he practiced weightlifting. Later, he participated in the Go to the Future charity run, organized by Future for Ukraine for veterans with limb loss. After the race, Oleksii together with Kyiv Morning Coffe Club played his first DJ set for participants — a long-held dream he was finally able to realise.
A professional life of Oleksii also evolved: he initially supported the LEVCHYK project in Mykolaiv as a volunteer and later joined the FFU team as a procurement specialist.
Step by step, Oleksii moved closer to his athletic goal and ultimately completed a 10 km distance — a milestone that symbolized his return to an active life!
Today, Oleksii continues to run and practice archery, and also plays adaptive volleyball. In December, he won gold and silver medals at the Ukrainian Defense Forces multi-sport HART Games competition in laser run and swimming — achievements that led him to the international sports arena.
We wish Oleksii continued success and thank our donors and patron Vadym Stolar for supporting prosthetic care for Ukrainians. The confidence restored through modern prosthetics enables our veterans to pursue their goals and rebuild active lives even after severe injuries.
