UNBROKEN Centre helps a defender of Zmiinyi Island, who had been in Russian captivity for over 2 years, to recover
33-year-old Vadym Nesterenko, a defender of Zmiinyi Island who was held in Russian captivity for over 2 years, lost 24 kg and survived torture, has completed his recovery at the UNBROKEN rehabilitation centre and plans to return to the army.
Vadym Nesterenko, from Odesa region, joined the ranks of the security forces in 2011, immediately after completing his military service. He was a member of the Izmail border guard detachment. In 2018, he joined the 35th Separate Marine Brigade. It was in its ranks that he faced a full-scale invasion on Zmiinyi Island.
“On 24 February, we were raised at 03:30 due to an alarm because a bomber was flying in our direction. Then, in the afternoon, ships began to approach. The first was the Moskva, the second was the Bykov. After the civilians were evacuated, the ships raised the red flag and started firing. Then aviation, mortars and turrets started working. For 4 hours, the explosions and whistling did not stop. They destroyed all the anti-aircraft guns. We were left with only machine guns,” the defender recalls.
The enemy offered the Ukrainian border guards and marines to surrender. And they, as you know, sent a “Russian warship” in a known direction. Then there was information about the deaths of all the defenders of Zmiine. Only later did it become known that they had been captured.
Vadym was held in captivity for 2 years and 3 months. The marine was tortured: doused with water, gassed, beaten with a stun gun and a stick. They broke his ribs, nose and knocked out a dozen teeth.
“Their favourite thing to do is not to let us eat. They gave us 5 minutes to eat. It was impossible to get enough to eat,” the marine shares his experience. He says that he was fed a piece of bread and cabbage poured over boiling water. As a result, Vadym, who weighed 83 kg before his capture, lost 59 kg by the time of his release on 31 May 2024.
A month after the exchange of prisoners, at the end of June, the Zmiine defender was sent for further recovery to the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Centre.
“The patient developed a number of gastrointestinal ailments as a result of his captivity. We diagnosed peptic ulcer disease and a hernia of the oesophagus. The patient also had an injury to his right knee joint, facial injuries with a curvature of the nasal septum and back. The latter were in the lumbar region. There were also protrusions of intervertebral discs in the cervical and lumbar spine,” says the defender’s treating doctor Orest Smalyukh.
Vadym stayed at the UNBROKEN centre for 3 months. He received conservative treatment here, worked with physical therapists and specialists from the mental health centre. He gained strength and significantly regained weight – up to 75 kilograms.
The defender plans to return to action and dreams of fulfilling his long-held dream of visiting Paris.
Reference.
The UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Centre is a unique place where adults and children affected by Russian aggression receive comprehensive care. This includes reconstructive surgery, orthopaedics and prosthetics. The injured are not only fitted with prostheses, but they are manufactured here. The wounded also receive physical, psychological and psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery with the support of specialists. All care is provided free of charge. The centre was opened in April 2023.
A 1,000-square-metre international prosthetics and orthotics centre was opened on 10 May 2024 at the UNBROKEN centre with the support of the German government. It will be able to manufacture more than a thousand prostheses a year, train future prosthetists and conduct research and development.