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‘The impossible’: Ukraine’s secret, deadly rescue missions

Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) HOLD FOR STORY BY JOHN LEICESTER and HANNA ARHIROVA: Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii exercises at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii checks his phone at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii is given rehab massages at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. The 22-year-old soldier, was shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol in March. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Vladislav Zahorodnii looks on during an interview with The Associated Press at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed earlier attempts. It was Zagorodniy's first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) "Buffalo" trains his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" is among the wounded survivors that were evacuated during the last-ditch defense of the Azovstal steel mill after exploding 120mm mortar rounds tore apart his left leg, Buffalo says: "The absence of a leg is a challenge, not a problem'. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) "Buffalo" listens to a doctor at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. Tossed next to the wreckage of a burning car, he dragged himself into the cover of a nearby building and "decided it would be better to crawl into the basement and quietly die there," he said. But his friends wanted him to live. They evacuated him to the Ilyich steel mill, which subsequently fell in mid-April as Russian forces were tightening their grip on Mariupol and its strategic port on the Sea of Azov. Three days passed before medics were able to amputate his leg, in a basement bomb shelter. He considers himself lucky: Doctors still had anesthetic when his turn came to go under their knife. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Doctors help "Buffalo" to train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" is among the wounded survivors that were evacuated during the last-ditch defense of the Azovstal steel mill. A fight-crew member took his hand and told him not to worry, they'd make it home."I told him, 'All my life, I dreamed of flying a helicopter. It doesn't matter if we arrive — my dream has come true,'" Buffalo recalled. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) "Buffalo," the name he uses as a soldier, lies on a bed at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. A series of clandestine, against-the-odds, high-speed helicopter missions to reach the Azovstal defenders in March and April — some of them ending in death — are being celebrated in Ukraine as one of the riskiest, most heroic feats of military derring-do of the four-month war. Buffalo owes them his life — the life he had hoped would end quickly, to end his torment, after exploding 120mm mortar rounds tore apart his left leg, bloodied his right foot, and peppered his back with shrapnel during street fighting in Mariupol. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A doctor helps "Buffalo" train his new prosthetic limb at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" has a small yellow plastic bird attached to his new prosthetic limb because, "I have to be a serious man at work, but in my heart, I am a child." (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) "Buffalo," the name he uses as a soldier, walks in a treadmill at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022. "Buffalo" was at the Azovstal plant, in an underground bunker-turned-medical station that provided shelter from death and destruction above. He was among those in the list for evacuation after being shredded by mortar rounds, losing his left leg above the knee. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)