Went to the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Poland and lost his legs: the stunning story of the war by Roman Grimail

At the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of volunteers returned from abroad to defend the country. While some men tried to cross the western border in car trunks, baby boxes, swimming, and even dressing up as women, volunteers from abroad went to the hottest parts of the front, often without even having any combat experience. One of these heroes 26-year-old Volhynian Roman Grimailo. What inner convictions made Roman commit a real masculine act, further in our story.

“My homeland is Ukraine, not Poland”

Before the start of the great war, Roman Grimailo lived in neighboring Poland, had a stable job, income and a well-established life.

“By the time of the large-scale invasion, I had already lived in Poland for four years and worked there. But in the summer I planned to go on vacation to Ukraine. February 24, I had to go to work. In the morning a friend called on the phone, woke me up and said that I would not be able to go to Ukraine on vacation - the war had begun. I did not believe it, but turned on the news and saw everything myself“, Roman recalls.

The man admits that he was in shock, but was not surprised by the large invasion of rashists from the Moscow swamp.

“Ever since 2014, it has become clear that sooner or later a great war could happen. I was only shocked that it was so easy to bomb cities and civilians, ” Roman says.

Read also: “When it exploded, I immediately realized that I would no longer have legs, because everything was torn into minced meat”: the history of the war of a paratrooper from Lvov

Then the guy firmly decided that he needed to return to Ukraine.

“I thought it over and made a decision. Still, my homeland is Ukraine, not Poland. In addition, all the people and relatives dear to me are all in Ukraine, so it would be wrong, in my opinion, not to return and protect them. It would be wrong to sit out in Poland,” Grimailo says.

Friends and relatives reacted ambiguously to the decision of the hero, because Roman had no combat experience: the man had never been in the ATO before and had not even served in the army.

“To be honest, my friends tried to refuse me. They said that I did not serve, that I had nothing to do in the armed forces. My relatives told me where I was going, why do I need this, because there is no experience whatsoever. But I understood that there are many people who went to the Armed Forces of Ukraine without experience and everything can be learned. Yes I answered“, - says the soldier.

In April 2022, Roman nevertheless returned to Ukraine. But then another unpleasant surprise awaited him.

Read also: One soldier was brought to the evacuation as dead. And the doctors resurrected him”: defender of Ukraine about the war “at zero”

“At first, the military registration and enlistment office did not want to take me. They said that I had a delay because my father had already served in the army. But I insisted that I was motivated, that I want to go to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and I don’t need any delay, I want to pass a medical examination and I won’t be refused anymore, ” Roman explains.

Under the pressure of a volunteer in the military registration and enlistment office, they could not resist. Roman was mobilized and sent to study in the UK.

“We were taught tactics, command, defense, reconnaissance, how to properly storm cities, go on patrol. In general, with regard to the infantry. We trained as stormtroopers. A foundation was given, and in the future, whoever wishes, can build on these foundations and create new tactics, - recalls the military. - The British treat Ukrainians with great respect. They say that the Ukrainians are indeed a courageous people and under the pressure of great forces they did not retreat, did not give up and are fighting for their freedom. There is really great respect for this, because the British are trying to teach us as much as possible.”

“First opinion: I dreamed everything”

Upon returning from foggy Albion, Roman Grimailo goes to the hottest sector of the front - the Donetsk direction. The military admits that it was very hot.

“The enemy has a lot of artillery. They bomb heavily and sometimes it is not even possible to push your head out of the trenches. But we kept the defense, because we could not retreat, because behind us were cities with civilians. And the “Wagnerites” are definitely going to storm under the influence of any drugs. It so happened that one of them was injured, and he gets up and goes on. A reasonable person would not be able to“, - says the man.

The fighting for Roman ended on September 9 last year - the day when the military was seriously injured.

Read also: He returned to the front after two wounds: the Ukrainian champion of Europe died in the war with the Russians

“I took up combat duty in the morning. There was a mortar attack. We were sitting in the trenches. At the moment the shelling began, I reported on the radio that fire was coming at my position. After 5-10 minutes there was a call to the radio, I got up, took the radio in my hands and the next moment I realized that I had already been knocked down and buried. I began to dig out in order to somehow get out of the “burrow”, get in touch and inform that the help of doctors and cars was needed for evacuation. The guys who were with me in position were shell-shocked, but they quickly reacted, helped me get out and imposed turnstiles. The mines continued to fall on the positions, but at that moment somehow no one thought to escape. I already understood that my limbs would not save me and amputation could not be avoided. When they took me out of the trenches and put me in a car, I already lost consciousness.the hero recalls.

Roman regained consciousness only at the hospital in Dnipro, when the man had already been operated on and his legs were amputated.

“My first thought was that I dreamed it all. But I looked back, looked at my feet and realized that this was not a dream after all.“, - explains the military.

To comprehend the new reality, according to Roman, was, of course, difficult.

“Yes, it was a little hard, but I understood that life does not stop there and it makes no sense for me to decline, because if my relatives see that I have lost my thirst for life, then it will be even more difficult for them. I had no right to give up. Yes, and I understood that sooner or later I will be on prostheses and everything will be fine, ” the man says.

And so it happened. Fortunately, the doctors managed to save Roman’s knees, which made further prosthetics and rehabilitation easier.

“In fact, I am still learning to walk on prostheses. Walking on a flat surface is one thing, but going out into the street, where there are ups and downs, is already much more difficult: a lot depends on how to set the foot, how to adjust the prostheses, because if you do it all wrong, you can fall.the hero explains.

“We have a very great motivation to go to the end and stand even to the last drop of blood”

The man does not regret his choice to return to Ukraine at a difficult time for the country, because he has no doubts about victory.

“We are united and we are accustomed to freedom, since the time of the Cossacks. In addition, we are on our own land and protect dear people so that our relatives are not afraid, and do not go to a foreign country to kill. We have a very great motivation to go to the end and stand even to the last drop of blood. Every soldier will sacrifice himself if he can save a person. Sacrifice is a very powerful force. And the people who come to us cannot even be called people, because they just go to kill and rob“, - summed up the military.

You can learn more about the rehabilitation of soldiers and victims of the war in Ukraine, as well as assistance to Ukrainians with disabilities who have received asylum in the EU countries, on the website of the organization EnableMe Ukraine. You can ask an expert a question and get free help in the EnableMe community.

Earlier published an interview with actor Yakov Tkachenko: “We are now rendering Russia a great service - we are cleaning out its genetic rubbish.”