“Nightmare came true”: story of soldier who made it out of burning tank

Illia Pylypenko, a 30-year-old Ukrainian soldier from the city of Vinnytsia, was a real estate agent before the full-scale invasion. The man lost his leg and suffered burns to 30% of his body after being seriously wounded at the front, and now he wants to help his severely wounded comrades, says the First Medical Association of Lviv. During his civilian side of life, he would work, and in his spare time, he loved to do sports.

Boxing and running were among his favourite activities. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion, Illia voluntarily joined the army and ended up as a tank driver.

Advertisement: Illia PylypenkoAll photos by First Medical Association of Lviv

The man says that the nightmare of any tanker is to burn alive in his own combat vehicle. Unfortunately, this nearly came true for him.

Illia and his comrades were deployed in the area of Kherson in early September. At some point, the soldier's tank came across mines. The man came to his senses to see everything around him on fire.

He managed to escape the fire trap on his own despite burns and an open fracture in his leg.

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The man wishes to get back to sports at once

Illia crawled away from the tank and began putting out his shoes, which had been on fire all this time. The man was given first aid by his comrades.

Later, medical experts found that the fire had burned 30% of the man's body. The tanker underwent three skin grafts and multiple blood transfusions over the two months he spent in the burn unit. The man lost his right leg due to the injury, and a prosthesis was fitted in its place.

The soldier is training to walk with a prosthesis

The soldier now dreams of joining the prosthetics team at the Invincible National Rehabilitation Centre to help people like him.

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