--- title: "After amputation in battle and Russian captivity, he returned to service: the DShV launched the 'Protez DShV' project for wounded fighters" description: "The Ukrainian Air Assault Forces launched the \"Protez DShV\" project for fighters after severe injuries and prosthetics. The central story is a paratrooper who returned to service after the amputation of a leg and Russian captivity." date: 2026-09-22T15:08:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/dshv-protez-project-for-wounded-fighters tags: [dshv, ukraine-army, rehabilitation, veterans, protez, war] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # After amputation in battle and Russian captivity, he returned to service: the DShV launched the 'Protez DShV' project for wounded fighters ![DSHV soldier in camouflage uniform and beret with DSHV emblem, in the 'Protez DSHV' project workshop](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/22/dshv-protez-proekt-dlya-ranenyh-boytsov/dshv-protez-proekt-dlya-ranenyh-boytsov-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - On September 21, 2026, the DShV launched the "Protez DShV. Be among your own" project for servicemen after severe injuries and prosthetics. - The project offers directions of service outside the front line, including work with unmanned systems and ground robotic complexes. - Alexey Kapelyushny, a paratrooper of the 25th Sichslav Brigade, returned to service in the DShV after the amputation of a leg and Russian captivity. - Some details of the biography are based on the serviceman's personal testimony and have not been independently verified. On September 21, 2026, the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces launched a new project, "Protez DShV. Be among your own," aimed at enabling servicemen who have gone through severe injuries and prosthetics to continue serving in the Defense Forces. The initiative creates work directions for such fighters that do not involve direct presence at the front line and offers to apply through the project page, followed by contact from a DShV recruiter. The central story of the new material is that of a serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Sichslav Brigade, Alexey Kapelyushny, who returned to service after the amputation of a leg and captivity in Russian hands. ### Project launch and the logic of service after prosthetics In the Air Assault Forces, it is emphasized that prosthetics itself does not mean the end of a military career. According to them, servicemen after amputations are already carrying out combat tasks, including working with unmanned systems and ground robotic complexes. The project is intended to systematize this process: the army risks losing people with unique combat experience, while their knowledge and skills remain in demand for other positions. Within the framework of "Protez DShV," the DShV intend to tell the stories of servicemen of the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps and the 8th DShV Corps who continue serving after amputations and other severe injuries. ### The story of Alexey Kapelyushny: amputation in battle and encirclement According to the paratrooper's own account, during one of the battles he found himself encircled and sustained a severe leg injury. Kapelyushny claims that, understanding that the leg was hindering him, he completed its amputation himself, after which he held his defense for another two and a half hours. He was then taken to a hospital in occupied Horlivka, where the leg was amputated above the knee. According to him, one of the medics secretly brought him food and said: "Not everyone here wants to go to Russia, we are waiting for Ukraine here." "Even for the sake of this one person, Horlivka is worth liberating," the serviceman noted. ### Captivity, Elenovka, and return on crutches After treatment, Kapelyushny, according to him, fell into Russian captivity and went through a camp in Elenovka, where, as he recounts, there were beatings, torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, and harsh conditions of detention. From captivity, the paratrooper returned on crutches, which, according to him, he traded for a piece of bread. At the same time, as he claims, he managed to carry out information about Ukrainian defenders held by Russia. After the exchange, the serviceman underwent treatment and prosthetics but did not leave the army and returned to service in the Air Assault Forces. ### Caveats and the nature of the information It should be noted that the launch of the project and its mechanics are confirmed by editorial material, while the key details of Alexey Kapelyushny's biography — self-amputation in battle, conditions in Horlivka and Elenovka, the exchange for crutches — are presented as his personal testimony and cannot be independently verified at the time of publication. This is not a contradiction between sources, but a limitation by the nature of the data: the three domains examined transmit the same original source, so cross-verification by independent facts is absent. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Returned to the army after amputation and captivity: the DShV launch a project for wounded fighters](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/pislya-amputatsiyi-ta-polonu-povernuvsya-1790089542.html) - Первоисточник: запуск проекта 21 сентября, механика заявки, история Капелюшного, цитаты. - [Returned to the army after amputation and Russian captivity: the DShV launch a project for wounded fighters](https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukraina/5950614-pislya-amputatsii-ta-rosiyskogo-polonu-povernuvsya-u-viysko-dshv-zapuskayut-proekt-dlya-poranenikh-biytsiv) - Перепечатка материала РБК-Украина, фактическая база совпадает. - [Returned to the army after amputation and captivity in Russian hands: the DShV launch a project for ...](https://censor.net/ru/news/4024734/desantnik-sicheslavskoyi-brigady-kapelyushnyyi-vernulsya-na-slujbu-v-dshv) - Перепечатка, подтверждает ключевые тезисы без расхождений по датам и цифрам. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: When did the "Protez DShV. Be among your own" project start? **A:** The project started on September 21, 2026. It was created for servicemen after severe injuries and prosthetics who want to continue serving in the Defense Forces. ### Q: What directions of service does the project offer? **A:** Directions that do not involve work directly at the front line, including work with unmanned systems and ground robotic complexes. An application is submitted through the project page, after which a DShV recruiter contacts the candidate. ### Q: What is known about the story of Alexey Kapelyushny? **A:** According to him, he sustained a severe leg injury in battle, completed the amputation himself, after which the leg was amputated above the knee in Horlivka, and then he fell into Russian captivity and went through Elenovka. He returned from captivity on crutches, underwent treatment and prosthetics, and returned to service in the DShV.