Sgt. Mykhailo (Misha) Varvarych, 28, a commander with Ukraine's 80th Airborne Assault Brigade, and his fiancée, Iryna (Ira) Botvynska, 19, navigate an altered destiny after he lost both legs earlier this year while fighting in Luhansk during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For better or worse, this is a Ukrainian love story.
Since June, they have been living in a tiny room at the Truskavets City Hospital near Lviv, in western Ukraine, where a growing legion of Ukraine's war wounded have come to seek healing and rehabilitation. More than 150 amputees have been treated so far at this facility alone. They lean on each other and face their drastically changed circumstances with dry wit, tenacity and grace.
