The story of Zakhar Biryukov, who was severely hurt during the conflict and is now receiving treatment abroad.

Zakhar Biryukov joined the defense of Ukraine in 2015 because he didn’t want his country to be taken over. Zakhar couldn’t accept that some aggressors had started causing harm to his fellow citizens and taking control of towns and villages, so he chose to stand against them.

As a soldier, Zakhar realized that a large-scale conflict was inevitable. He and his comrades did not know when Russia would attempt a full invasion of Ukraine, but he was mentally prepared for it.

On 24 February 2022, Zakhar was visiting his parents in Zhytomyr Oblast, but when he learned that the conflict had begun, he immediately went home to Vasylivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where his wife and children were.

During the first month of the full-scale conflict, Zakhar and his family remained in Vasylivka, which is now under the control of Russian forces. At that time, the town was in a gray zone, controlled by neither Ukraine nor the occupying forces.

When shelling in Vasylivka intensified, Yulia and her children managed to leave the town and evacuate abroad. A week later, Zakhar also left for Zaporizhzhia. He was fortunate to leave in time, as the occupying forces would likely have tried to detain him.

On 17 July 2022, Zakhar was critically injured by enemy fire. Doctors had to surgically remove both arms and his right leg. In addition, he sustained multiple thermal injuries, contusions, a fractured jaw, eye damage, and severe blood loss.

In the first days after the injury, doctors were unable to give any prognosis. His family was overwhelmed with fear and grief. However, the most important thing was that he survived. His wife Yulia, who was abroad with their children, returned to Ukraine and came to the hospital where Zakhar was receiving care.

In the two months following his injury, Zakhar was treated in seven different hospitals.

“We all experienced constant uncertainty: at one moment his condition was critical and he couldn’t be moved, and a few hours later he was already in another city; in one hospital his leg was preserved, and in another we were told it had already been surgically removed because the bone had been completely damaged; then there was positive news about his eye, and later we were informed that it would also need to be removed. This continued every day for two months,” says Zakhar’s sister, Olesya.

After medical procedures in Ukraine, Zakhar and his wife traveled to Germany. He is now continuing his treatment at the University Hospital of Würzburg. German doctors noted that their Ukrainian colleagues had done an excellent job reconstructing Zakhar’s jaw and performing skin graft procedures.

At first, Zakhar stayed in the hospital, but after a few weeks he moved to a dormitory near the rehabilitation center. During his stay in Germany, Zakhar Biryukov has regained strength, visited all necessary specialists, and learned how to adapt to his body independently.

Zakhar already has his first training prosthesis, with which he took his first steps after the injury. He will use several types of training prostheses over six months, after which he will choose the most comfortable option.

Despite the physical discomfort and long, complex treatment, as he waits for further medical procedures, Zakhar remains optimistic and dreams of returning to Ukraine.