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Valery Kucherenko is a “Hero of Ukraine” but the battle he is currently fighting is learning how to eat and use the toilet alone.
The 30-year-old, who was seriously injured in October, is now a double amputee with two prosthetic arms.
More and more Ukrainian soldiers like him are losing limbs in a war that has dragged on for three years and are being forced to adapt to life in a country that has few facilities for people with disabilities.
“I have new arms and I have to use them. And you have to realize that this is for the rest of your life. This is your whole future,” Mr. Kucherenko said.
The Protégé Foundation, a US non-profit, fitted Mr Kucherenko with bionic prosthetic arms after a fundraising campaign.
Made by a Ukrainian startup called Esper, they have rechargeable batteries and are powered by the muscles in his stumps.
But they don't fit perfectly into the prosthetic arms and they often come loose.
Jim Henrichsen, the US specialist who implanted his arms, explained that this is normal due to the loss of muscle mass.
Mr. Kucherenko served in the army from 2015 to 2017, and then rejoined in 2022 when Russia invaded. A junior sergeant, the leading troops were wounded when they attacked Russian positions in the eastern Lugansk region.
A leader's respect
Shrapnel from a hand grenade pelted his arms, legs and eyes, one of which now saw only light and darkness. Mr. Kucherenko was awarded Ukraine's highest honor, the Hero of Ukraine medal, for his actions.
“You are a hero. In Ukraine, no one will forget such heroes,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told him at the hospital.
After having his new arm fitted, “the first thing I wanted to do was go to the toilet independently, which was a big problem for me,” he said.
“That's one of the great joys.” But it's a work in progress, said his wife of 25 years, Veronica.
With prosthetics, “it's easy, he can eat on his own,” she said. But the most difficult thing is “going to the toilet. He still can't go by himself. ”
Testing his bionic hand, Mr Kucherenko lifted a bottle of water to his mouth. It slipped and Veronica caught it.
“He needs more time, he needs to learn, he needs to train. Then we will get the result,'' he said. Prosthetics give amputees “a chance,” says a poster from the Protege Foundation, which has a waiting list of 1,600 soldiers. “It's a dream,” says one soldier who gets a prosthetic arm.
Strong soldiers
The soldiers are “in good shape, they're strong … they make me look good because they're really sharp,” Mr. Henrichsen said. “Valeriy just said, 'Let's go!'” Mr. Kucherenko said. But experts added that many may not have realized the difficulties ahead.
“I don't know if they're necessarily aware of it: the use of a (prosthetic) hand, how much work it takes to get familiar with it,” he said.
In central Kyiv, Mr. Kucherenko's black and silver hands attracted curious glances. “Most people who meet someone like me understand and support … but there are many people who still don't understand what it's like,” he said.
Until recently he used a wheelchair and found the city “not equipped at all”.
Panoramic windows at the Protégé Foundation clinic allow passers-by to see the disabled. This is intentional, because a wounded soldier is “a hero twice,” said CEO Yuri Aroshidze. “I'm all for that. “Ukrainians and Kyiv residents must see and understand the consequences of war,” Mr. Kucherenko said.
As a hero of Ukraine, Mr. Kucherenko had to get a flat, but now lives in a small rented apartment in Bila Tserkva, south of Kyiv.
Mr. Kucherenko plans to return to the military as an instructor. “I will not be able to fight, but I will still be able to help the armed forces,” he said.
He recently visited his unit “to show them that I am here, that I am alive. I can.” He also fired an assault rifle.
“He'll be back. He'll live for this,” Veronica said.
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