On January 22, our first military personnel arrived in Malta and will undergo prosthetics and rehabilitation at the Steward Health Care Malta (SHCM) clinic. Before the war, the men had no military experience, but with the beginning of a full-scale invasion, they took up arms and stood up to defend their country.
For the first time, war came into Andriy Konovalov's life in 2014. Then he lived in Donetsk with his wife and little daughter. The second time — already in February 2022, in Kramatorsk, where the family was forced to move from Donetsk. Here, Andriy worked at the school as a physical education teacher. Later, a second daughter was born into the family.
From the first days of the war, he did not hesitate to go to the military commissariat to fight for the future of his children in independent Ukraine. As our hero says: "If my students fight, and I don't, then how will I look them in the eye? An older man talks about the strength of spirit and body, but he did not go to defend his land."
At first, Andrii got into Territorial Defense Forces, and in June, he found himself in several hot spots. During the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army, their brigade took part in the liberation of Liman. On October 7, during a combat mission in the Luhansk region, the soldier came across an anti-personnel mine. As a result, he lost his leg. Andrii's brothers gave him first aid and he was taken to a field hospital in an ambulance.
Despite the serious injury, our hero does not stop dreaming. He is eager to return to his profession and teach children again. And after the victory, get to the football match of your favorite team "Shakhtar" at its home stadium in Donetsk!
Our second soldier, Vitaly Tarusin, lived with his wife and two daughters in Kharkiv until February 24. He worked as a construction worker and joined the ranks of Ukraine’s Armed Forces immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion. He could not sit idly by because he believed that it was necessary to actively act for our victory.
After completing the training, Vitaly got into the Kherson direction. Served as a grenade launcher and stopped enemy convoys with equipment. The most difficult moments in the service were those when it was necessary to take away brothers on the shield.
During one of the combat missions, the soldier came under heavy grenade fire and stepped on a mine, as a result, he was seriously injured and lost his leg. Vitaly learned about the liberation of Kherson, in the direction of which the military brigade was heading, already at the hospital where he was evacuated. The thought of the complete liberation of our land from the occupiers gives the hero the strength to fight on!
We are infinitely grateful to every military man who is currently protecting Ukraine at the cost of his health and life! It is in our power to do everything in our power to thank them properly.
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