Ukrainian soldier to gift medal to donor
AN amputee Ukrainian soldier who ran the London Marathon has said he will gift his medal to the person who donates the largest amount of money to his fundraising campaign to help seriously injured soldiers.
Active Ukrainian marine Heorhii Roshka, 32, ran in the marathon on Sunday alongside fellow marine Oleksii Rudenko, 28, with the pair completing the course in around five hours.
Mr Roshka had his arm amputated in a bunker during the siege of Azovstal, while Mr Rudenko lost his leg after he stepped on a mine during a combat mission in eastern Ukraine, and now both men use prosthetics.
They are planning to return to Ukraine in the coming days, where Mr Rudenko will continue his army service while Mr Roshka will carry on with his rehabilitation treatment.
Speaking through a translator, Mr Roshka said: “I’ll be supplying my medal from the finisher of this race as a gift to help boost the fundraising.
“The person who gives the biggest or largest donation can get this medal as part of my fundraising campaign.”
With their participation in the marathon, the servicemen are raising money to help seriously injured soldiers with rehabilitation and prosthetics.
They are also hoping to raise awareness for Ukrainian soldiers in captivity and they carried flags at the marathon which read: “Freedom for captured Ukrainian marines”.
“We have to attract additional attention to fundraising and to highlight the message of the Ukrainian soldiers in captivity,” Mr Roshka said.
“People are not raising the subject of those in captivity anymore and there are a lot of people in captivity waiting for immediate release.”
In May 2022, Mr Rosha took up a combat position in the Azovstal steel plant and after being hit by a mine, he retreated to a bunker in the steel plant where his arm was amputated.
Less than two weeks later he was forced to surrender and was taken captive with his fellow Ukrainian soldiers in a hospital in Donetsk for a month-and-a-half before he was freed as part of a prisoner swap.
To find out more, visit Heorhii Roshka’s fundraising page at 2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse. com/pf/heorhii-roshka and Olesksii Rudenko’s page at 2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/oleksii– rudenko.