Ukrainian band of brothers will return to fight after marathon finish line

A team of two Ukrainian marines and their coach is taking on the TCS London Marathon (Picture: via British-Ukrainian Aid)

Two injured Ukrainian marines are taking on the TCS London Marathon for their war-torn homeland — and will return to active duty afterwards.  

Heorhii ‘Gosha’ Roshka and Oleksii Rudenko have refused to be sidelined after losing limbs in the fight against Russian military aggression since 2014. 

Together with professional athlete Slava Kulakovskyi, the team coach, they are taking on the 26.2 miles at a perilous time for their nation, which is fighting for survival amid critical shortages of air defence, manpower and ammunition. 

The three amputees have already completed Herculean personal journeys just to get to the point where they are able to make the start line in Greenwich Park today.

Heorhii, 32, sustained multiple injuries in the bloody siege of Mariupol as Ukrainian troops made a last-ditch stand. At one point his wounds were so severe he told a comrade to ‘finish me’ rather than be a burden on his unit.  

But he and his teammates are determined to raise funds for vital aid for Ukraine by joining more than 50,000 runners in the capital.  

Speaking at the London Marathon Running Show on Thursday, Heorhii told Metro.co.uk: ‘I am excited to be here in London with an opportunity to help our injured soldiers, but I want to go home as soon as possible to be with my brothers-in-arms and fight for Ukraine.  

Oleksii Rudenko (l), Heorhii Roshka and team coach Slava Kulakovskyi at the London ExCel centre Running Show (Picture: via British-Ukrainian Aid)

‘The whole world should know that Ukraine is fighting and a lot of injured soldiers are ready to fight but need support.  

‘We are united by one tragedy and one objective — to help the country and our people.’ 

The marines are representing Ukraine as Russian forces seize the initiative on the eastern battlefield and continue to direct unrelenting waves of drones, missiles and glide bombs at civilian targets across the country.  

Heorhii, who did not disclose the location of his family home in Ukraine for security reasons, has recovered from his duties to reclaim his place as an active marine.  

Oleksii Rudenko has battled back to fitness after a devastating mine blast (Picture: Oleksii Rudenko/British-Ukrainian Aid)

‘The world should support us and give weapons and protection systems to protect the country as they guaranteed when Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons,’ he said.  

The Mariupol defender has overcome fierce combat, losing his left arm and mistreatment in Russian captivity on his way to rejoining active service. 

He was a grenadier with the 36th Separate Marine Brigade’s assault battalion as Russian forces and their proxies advanced on the southern port city in February 2022. 

Heorhii and his comrades fought round the clock and held out for weeks, enduring hellish conditions in the Azovstal steel mills before the military command gave the order to surrender.

Ukrainian marine Heorhii Roshka (right) with Olexander, a friend and brother-in-arms whose life he saved (Picture: Heorhii Roshka/British-Ukrainian Aid)

While other runners rest their aching limbs, Heorhii and his team will return to a much darker reality.

‘Life will be the same as before,’ he said.

‘Air raid sirens, missiles, children looking for shelters, thousands of people being injured. My four-year-old daughter will continue to go to kindergarten in a basement shelter.

‘I wish for a peaceful future for each child in Ukraine and in the world.

‘The children are our future.’ 

Oleksii, 28, is also overcoming the odds after being severely injured by an anti-personnel mine on a combat mission against Russian proxy forces in the eastern Donbass region.  

The officer, now a military instructor in the southern port city of Odessa, shouted ‘screw the leg’ after the explosive detonated during the operation in October 2020. He will take on the marathon using a sports prosthesis to replace his missing right limb.  

Professional athlete Slava Kulakovskyi will be hitting the streets of London on Saturday with the Ukrainian team (Picture: via British-Ukrainian Aid)

Team coach Slava lost his left arm from the shoulder down in an industrial accident in 2014 but has pursued a professional career focused on sport and the rehabilitation of injured Ukrainian soldiers.  

The team is raising funds for London-based charity British-Ukrainian Aid which will transfer the funds to the Citizen Charity Foundation, a Ukrainian organisation supporting injured servicemen with modern prosthetics, education and physical and psychological rehabilitation. 

Fundraising pages:

Heorhii Roshka,

Slava Kulakovskyi

Oleksii Rudenko

MORE : Injured Ukrainian marine who told a comrade to ‘finish me’ tells of two years of war

MORE : Ukrainian marine told comrades ‘screw the leg!’ after stepping on Russian mine

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