23-05-2025
Two months in a coma: story of Ukrainian defender severely wounded in Russia's Kursk Oblast
Mykhailo Vovchyna, a 33-year-old military volunteer, sustained a severe injury in Russia's Kursk Oblast when a Russian shell exploded right next to him. Due to a major brain contusion, he spent two months in a coma, but he is now starting to get back on his feet.
Source: First Medical Union of Lviv
Details: Mykhailo was born in Lviv Oblast. Before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, he worked as a cook abroad. In early March 2022, he returned to Ukraine to defend his homeland.
Mykhailo joined the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade, initially serving as an artilleryman and later becoming a drone operator.
In January 2025, Mykhailo was injured in Kursk Oblast. He and his comrades were returning from a position when their vehicle broke down. As they tried to fix it, a Russian drone spotted them and dropped a munition, which exploded right next to Mykhailo. The fragments injured his head and back.
"I remember the flash and being loaded into the Hummer [pickup truck], but I couldn't open my eyes," said Mykhailo. "I thought there was something wrong with them, but it was blood. I also remember being taken for evacuation."
Mykhailo before getting injured.
Photo: First Medical Union of Lviv
Mykhailo sustained a severe head injury, including a brain contusion. He fell into a coma after he reached the field hospital.
Mykhailo was later operated on in the city of Sumy, and then Kyiv doctors took over his medical treatment. In March, still unconscious and on life support, he was transferred to Lviv.
Mykhailo regained consciousness two months after the injury. During his month-long stay in the anaesthesiology and intensive care unit, he worked with a physical therapist and a speech therapist. This was followed by more active rehabilitation.
Currently, Mykhailo is working with an occupational therapist to improve cognitive functions and self-care skills, and with a physical therapist to build muscle strength in his lower limbs, overcome contracture in his hip joint and walk.
"The patient does not miss a single session and is already showing good results," said the First Medical Association of Lviv. "What motivates him most is his girlfriend Iryna, who has been by his side through all of it."
Mykhailo is on a long road to rehabilitation. He still requires two operations: one to close a skull bone defect with a titanium plate and facial plastic surgery.
Background: Earlier, we reported the story of defender Andrii Sydorenko, who sustained a severe blast injury that resulted in him losing his eyesight and his left leg.
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