By Jessica Easthope
Life goes on inside of a two-family home on Staten Island for Hennadiy Degtyar and Vitalii Fomenko. Even though the men, both Ukrainian war veterans, find themselves in a situation that’s anything but normal.
“There was so much negativity around me but finally the silver lining of my life appeared, but I know there was a lot of hard work behind this,” Hennadiy tells Currents News from their home.
The two recount the darkest days of their lives with little emotion. Both soldiers were on the front lines of the Ukraine war when they suffered devastating injuries that left them missing parts of their legs.
“We were in the forest at night and couldn’t use lights or the enemy drones would detect us. I put a tourniquet on my right leg to stop the bleeding. My foot was still there, but it was hanging off,” Hennadiy recalls of a September 2023 attack.
“It was two days before my birthday, there was a drone attack,” Vitalii who was injured in May of 2024, tells Currents News. “I was actually taking a video of my leg, narrating what was going on.”
Instead of dwelling in the past, they joke about saving money on shoes because they only need one pair between the two of them.
Hennadiy and Vitalii are now roommates at a home run by Kind Deeds, a New York-based non-profit that fits Ukrainian soldiers for prosthetics and provides physical therapy. The quality of U.S.-manufactured prosthetics offers a comfort and relief unavailable to them in war-torn Ukraine.
“After only 10 minutes of using it, I already got a blister on my leg and it set me back two weeks until I could even try it again. With this one I almost feel like I’m fully recovered,” Hennadiy says about his first prosthetic, compared to the one Kind Deeds gave him.
The clinical director for Kind Deeds, Dmitryo Shevchenko, says the organization has helped two civilians and 52 veterans. 30% return to the front lines with their prosthetics.
“These are the bravest most dedicated people I’ve met,” Shevchenko tells Currents News. “It’s an honor to be able to help guys like that.”
Hennadiy and Vitalii say they never lost hope or a sense of humor,. It’s what has kept them pushing through all this time. Their faith on the other hand, has been strengthened.
“Church for me is like emotional relief and calmness,” says Hennadiy. “These days, we’re more and more involved.”
The two soldiers are fighting every day for freedom and independence. For Hennadiy ,and Vitalii, and for all of Ukraine – there’s no time to focus on anything else.