Story 10
Vasyl
- Veteran of the 46th Air Assault Battalion
- Now playing for “Unbroken,” Lviv’s para ice hockey team
Before the war, Vasyl lived a life in motion. He served his term in the Naval Forces, worked as a welder in Europe, and gave his free time to the outdoors — fishing, hiking, the gym, ski racing in winter. He was a man who needed his body to move.
In 2023, he joined the 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade as a tank gunner. On the outskirts of Mariinka, during defensive operations, he was wounded by artillery fire.
During rehabilitation, he carried one stubborn will — to stand on prosthetics as soon as possible, to live independently again, to take his own life back into his own hands.
The Hug for Heroes program gave that drive what it had been missing — people. In Sweden, Vasyl met other veterans who pulled him deeper into sport and volunteer work. Those friendships followed him home.
Today he plays for “Unbroken,” a para ice hockey team in Lviv. His life is active again — sport, swimming, volunteering.
Vasyl admits his dream is twofold and inseparable — to live in a Ukraine that has won the war and is flourishing, and to compete one day at the Paralympic Games.
