33-year-old marine infantryman Oleksandr Borshchevskyi from Khmelnytskyi region, who lost a leg in the war, is currently undergoing rehabilitation and learning to walk with a prosthesis at the UNBROKEN centre in Lviv.
Before the full-scale invasion, Oleksandr worked as an electrician. In early March 2022, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, becoming part of the 1st Separate Battalion of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi, where he served in a mortar crew.
This June, the serviceman sustained his first severe injury in the Kostyantynivka sector. While withdrawing from a position, he stepped on a PFM-1 anti-personnel mine, known as a “petal”. The explosion immediately tore off half of his left foot, leaving only the heel. At the stabilisation point, doctors told him there was no point trying to save this part of the limb, as he would not be able to bear weight on it. Doctors in Kyiv shared the same view and amputated the leg below the knee — at a level optimal for future prosthetic fitting.
In July, Oleksandr arrived in Lviv for rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN centre. After a month of physiotherapy, he received his first temporary prosthesis and is now actively learning to walk with his new limb. Later, he is to be fitted with a permanent prosthesis.
“If the amputation is like mine, or a different one, the main thing is not to lose heart. Stay positive and don’t get silly things into your head like that I’m not needed by anyone or something like that. If you stay positive, everything will be fine,” the defender is convinced.
Among Oleksandr’s immediate goals are to successfully complete rehabilitation, fully master walking with the prosthesis, and marry the woman he loves, who has waited for him throughout all his years of service.
The Lviv UNBROKEN centre has been operating since April 2023. Here, adults and children affected by Russian aggression receive comprehensive medical care: reconstructive surgery, orthopaedics, prosthetics, as well as physical, psychological and psychosocial rehabilitation. All services are provided to patients free of charge.
In May 2024, with the support of the German government, an international-standard prosthetics and orthotics centre with an area of 1,000 square metres was opened on the UNBROKEN premises. Here, specialists not only manufacture and fit prostheses, but also train future prosthetists.
Within the UNBROKEN ecosystem, Ukraine’s first Centre for helping people who have survived torture or suffered severe moral trauma as a result of the war has also been established. It features cosy rooms without the typical “hospital” atmosphere, spaces for various types of art therapy and modern psychological recovery programmes.