Doctors at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv have saved the leg of 21-year-old Artem Antonenko, a soldier from Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade who nearly lost it after stepping on an anti-personnel mine during combat in Luhansk region in December 2024.
Artem, originally from the village of Korolivka in Dnipropetrovsk region, worked as a pastry chef in Dnipro before joining the military at age 20. He began service as a machine gunner and quickly rose to become a squad commander.
On December 4, while returning from a mission, Artem stepped on a mine. His right leg sustained severe damage — multiple fractures and extensive soft tissue loss. The left leg was also injured by shrapnel. Fellow soldiers quickly applied tourniquets and evacuated him to a stabilization point.
“All I could think about was the pain and how thirsty I was. But most of all, I wanted to live,” Artem recalled.
After initial care and the installation of an external fixation device, Artem was transferred to Kharkiv and then to Lviv. At UNBROKEN, he arrived with serious infections in his right leg. Amputation was a strong possibility.
The medical team at UNBROKEN performed multiple debridements and administered aggressive antibiotic therapy. Their efforts paid off — the infection was controlled, and the leg was saved.
Artem is now waiting for his bones to fully heal. Physical rehabilitation has started, focused on regaining mobility in his legs and eliminating a knee contracture. Therapy is currently paused due to the external fixator but will resume as soon as possible.
Thanks to the expert care at UNBROKEN, Artem has a real chance to walk again — on his own legs.
Launched in April 2023, the UNBROKEN center has become a vital hub for those affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion. It provides free, integrated care — including reconstructive surgery, orthopedics, prosthetics, and both physical and psychological rehabilitation.
🔹 In May 2024, UNBROKEN opened a 1,000 m² international-standard prosthetics center. The facility can produce over 1,000 prosthetic limbs annually, train future prosthetists, and conduct advanced research and development.