Marine Denys Kovtykha became a participant in The Heart of Azovstal, a programme of Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front defence initiative. It purchased an apartment in Odesa for the defender.
The 23-year-old defender sustained a major head injury during the fighting near Mariupol - a skull fracture with displacement. It took over a week to get him to hospital. Eventually, he was evacuated to Dnipro. This was followed by a long treatment and difficult rehabilitation, successful and unsuccessful surgeries. The doctors were apprehensive about taking on such a hard case. For months, the defender's mother travelled with her son to hospitals and clinics in Ukraine. Eventually, the family found a specialist in Odesa who agreed to re-install the titanium implant and restore Denys's appearance.
Despite his first-degree disability, he remains the main breadwinner in the family. He has a mother and two younger brothers. Now Denys wants to study law to provide legal assistance to his fellow soldiers.
"Since we already have a place to live, a proper home, not a rented apartment, the foundation has already been laid. Now I would like to go to university, study to become a lawyer and help my fellow soldiers. I want to provide legal assistance. The front line hasn't left me yet, so I want to help my people achieve their goals. I couldn't believe that you could get an apartment like that. I would like to thank Rinat Akhmetov for helping people like us. This is a step into a new, brighter future," said Denys KOVTYKHA.
The Heart of Azovstal is ready to continue to be by the defender's side, as the project's goal is to support defenders all the way from rehabilitation to self-realisation.
"Our project is ready to be there for them, to assist in getting an education. We have the "Future" programme to help with this. Everything we do, all our programmes focus on the future after the service, after the war, after the victory. So that each of our male and female defenders can thrive in civilian life. Especially those who were seriously injured," said Kseniia SUKHOVA, head of The Heart of Azovstal.
The global goal of the "At Home" programme is to create decent living conditions for Mariupol's defenders as they transition to civilian life and develop new goals. Read more on the website of the The Heart of Azovstal.
