Editor's Note: Ukraine's Heroes is a Kyiv Post project devoted to Ukrainian army heroes injured in Russia's war against the nation. Periodically we will tell the stories of these wounded warriors, many of whom need money for treatment, surgeries and prosthesis. The pain is obvious on Ruslan Hudz's face as he attempts to walk unassisted. The 32-year-old lost half of his weight since last August, when he was injured during the battle for Savur Mohyla, a hill of strategic importance in Donetsk Oblast close to the Russian border. His pelvis was crushed by two mine fragments, his intestines cut and his urinary bladder torn apart.
A professional soldier, he was promoted to captain during the war and claims he’s been leading the luckiest active-duty squadron in the Ukrainian army – only one of his soldiers has been killed since spring 2014. His squadron saw service throughout Donbas starting from Volnovakha, Snizhne, Maryinka, Torez and later Avdiivka, Amvrosiivka and Savur Mohyla.
Savur Mohyla, a hill surrounded by soccer fields, had long been fought over before Hudz’s unit was sent there. “If supplied with enough food and armor, 50 people inside a pillbox on top of the hill could hold the location for months because of the fact that the place was surrounded by enemy forces from three sides,” Hudz says.
His squadron, together with other Ukrainian army units, stormed the hill twice. “We succeeded the second time, when we stormed it during the day and the enemy wasn’t expecting us,” he explained. Five weeks later Savur Mohyla was re-taken by Russian-separatist forces with the support of heavy artillery from inside Russia.
Immediately being wounded, Hudz was sent to a hospital in Dnipropetrovsk and later to Kyiv and Khmelnytsky.
“Even though I am no longer in a war zone, my war is still going on,” he says as he signs in for his 19th surgery at the Kyiv Urology Institute. He wages war for his health and the comfort of his 7-month-old daughter and wife.
While the surgeries are free, the rehabilitation medicine has to be covered by the soldier. “I spend Hr 370 every day for painkillers and other necessities such as, a urine drainage bag, we also rent an apartment, which is not a fortune in the regions but still,” Hudz says.
He wanted to postpone his surgery for two weeks until he got his salary so his wife and daughter won’t be left penniless. The soldier says he understands why he gets less attention now. “The war goes on, and it is no longer news, people get used to it as there are more and more wounded soldiers every day,” he says.
Hudz was called up to the army in spring when he says “no one thought actual fighting would start.”
Returning soldiers often complain they receive little support when they come home. “It is like a different world in the war zone, all your comrades are patriots fighting for the right thing… but then you go home and it feels like people couldn’t care less about the war,” Hudz says.
He gives thanks to those who offer support though. “When I was in the hospital it seems like hundreds where coming, bringing food, gifts and kind words,” he says.
Home was where the biggest gift awaited the hero. While Hudz was defending Ukraine from Russian aggression, his wife Olha gave birth to their daughter, who he didn’t know was even expected.
“I kept it a secret from almost all his relatives and himself of course for 9 months, I wanted him to worry more about himself than us,” his wife said, explaining her decision.
Named Alina, their daughter is now 7 months old, and looks and smiles a lot like her father. Her parents’ wishes are that she will one day have a brother and both could live in peace.
The family is in need of monetary assistance.
To help the family contact Ruslan Hudz directly – +380983790069
Or use the following bank details:
PrivatBank card number
4149 4978 1190 2594
Hudz Ruslan Yevheniyovych
