Support Us

Follow us on Instagram!

Titanium prosthetic arm: National Guard talks about Azov Regiment commander Illia Samoilenko

Monday, 9 May 2022, 22:49

Yana Osadcha - Monday, 9 May 2022, 23:49

lllia Samoilenko is the Azov Regiment’s commander and spokesman. He is currently located at Azovstal steelworks and is defending Mariupol alongside his fellow soldiers. The city has been almost completely seized by the Russian aggressors.

Samoilenko has shared the news from the underground bunkers during the long days of the siege.

Advertisement:

He held a press conference of Azov Regiment commanders in fluent English.

The National Guard of Ukraine has shared a few interesting facts about the combat officer.

He went to war at the age of 21

Advertisement:

lllia Samoilenko went to war in 2015, when he was 21 years old.

"I already had friends here who called for me. My will to fight is a way to understand myself as a citizen. Just like it used to be in ancient Greece: Do you want to be a citizen? Welcome to military service. I finally made up my mind to go [and join the military] in 2015," he said in an interview.

He studies history

lllia Samoilenko is a future historian. He has studied at the Faculty of History at Kyiv National University. He dreams of completing his studies after the war.

He has a prosthetic hand and an artificial eye

lllia lost his left arm and right eye during combat.

His forearm has been replaced by a titanium mechanical prosthesis and he has an artificial eye.

"I was blown up by my own ammunition while installing a tripwire because an enemy projectile fell nearby.

It hit me all at once - in the face, in one arm, and a leg," - he said.

The splinter got stuck next to the carotid artery, but lllia’s fellow soldiers were nearby. This saved his life.

He was recalled to active duty once he recovered after the injury.

His mother casts actors for Ukrainian cinema

lllia’s mother, Alla Samoilenko, is a well-known figure in the film industry.

She works in the casting business. Alla Samoilenko has found actors for more than 60 Ukrainian films, including "Viddana" and "Moi dumky tykhi" (My Thoughts Are Silent).

Advertisement: