• 11/26/2024

Disabled man who was rescued from missile-attacked house in Kyiv needs help

Pravda Ukraine

Russia launched a large-scale missile attack on Ukraine on 2 January, in particular destroying a residential building in the Solomianskyi district.

Among the survivors is 62-year-old Oleh Hontarenko, who has been disabled since birth. The man’s height is 1.05 metres, journalist Nataliia Nahorna said.

Now Oleh needs help because his belongings and his car have burned down. The apartment was affected the most – only some clothes and crutches could be retrieved.

Quote: “You’ve probably seen on social media the photo of Oleh Hontarenko’s rescue. Rescue workers carried him in their arms out of a collapsed and smoke-filled apartment. Oleh is alive and well. However, he used to move around in a car, which is now completely destroyed. Those were his ‘legs.’ There is nothing left of the vehicle,” wrote the TSN programme’s journalist.

 

Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv

When the Russian missile hit the courtyard, he was having breakfast in his room. 

“It saved him because the explosion’s epicentre was right under the kitchen windows. Oleh spent almost an hour under the rubble of the destroyed house. Everything around him was on fire. 

He couldn’t get out on his own, although he tried several times to climb over the mountains of debris from furniture, concrete, glass, and belongings. Rescue workers pulled him out, and most of you saw this rescue,” also wrote journalist Olena Rovenchuk.

 

Photo: Natasya Nagorna

Currently, Oleh is in hospital, but he has nowhere to return. 

“What concerns him the most is how he will manage without a car because, he says, it was his ‘legs’. He has had bone problems since birth and walks poorly. After the death of his mother, he was left completely alone with his brother, and the specially equipped car became his ticket to the world. 

He used to go to the store, to the cinema, to the theatre, and wherever he wanted. Oleh is very sociable and told me he is most afraid of being isolated without communication,” adds Olena.

The man has started a fundraiser for new housing. All willing individuals can also contribute funds using the details provided by Nataliia Nahorna.

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https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/6/7436113/