Oksana lost both legs to Russian mine, now she shared a wedding dance with her husband | Abroad

Fate struck for Oksana on March 27, during a walk in familiar territory in her hometown of Lysychansk. Just as she turned to warn her friend Viktor Vasyiliv of a potential danger, she stepped on the mine. “He looked at me when the mine exploded,” Oksana told Reuters news agency. “I fell flat on my face on the floor, and there was an extreme noise in my head. Then I turned and tore my clothes off me. I thought it would be easier to breathe then, because I couldn’t get any air.”

Viktor still remembers the moment like it was yesterday: ,,When it happened, I was taken over by sadness. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t see her move. If it wasn’t Oksana but someone else I don’t know what would have happened. She’s so strong, she didn’t faint. Oksana told me what to do.”

As a result of the explosion, she not only lost both legs, but also four fingers. The nurse got through the eye of the needle thanks to four operations, but for a while she didn’t know if she wanted to continue like this: “I didn’t want to live anymore, not live such a life. I have two kids, and I didn’t want them to see me like that. I didn’t want to be a burden to my family,” Oksana said.

With Viktor’s support, she pulled through. ,,I have accepted it. It’s not the end of my life. If God let me live, that’s what should have happened.” Viktor is grateful for every day he can share with Oksana: ,,I was afraid of losing her. I wanted to cry, but I just couldn’t. I was shocked. I couldn’t understand what had happened. It was really scary to lose the person I love.”

To allow her wounds to heal further, they moved to a hospital in Dnipro. A week ago, the couple was taken by train to Lviv for even better care. Viktor and Oksana’s children currently reside with Oksana’s parents in central Ukraine.

23-year-old Oksana and Viktor had been together for six years, but they had not yet found the time to get married. Now they immediately decided to seize their chance. The lovebirds provided wedding rings and a white dress, while volunteers arranged the wedding cake.

The ceremony eventually took place in the hospital room. The wedding dance was also not skipped, which aroused many emotions among those present. Viktor hugged his new bridegroom tightly, and Oksana put an arm around her husband’s neck, her left hand bandaged on his chest. Together they swung around the room, around the hospital beds. For a while they had a normal wedding.

The couple will now travel to Germany. Oksana hopes to work on her recovery in peace. She wants to learn to walk again as soon as possible with prostheses.