Melissa
Martin
Winnipeg Free Press
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in the Winnipeg Free Press on July 13, 2024. It is as originally published and reproduced with permission. This will be part one of a two part series.

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Luka huddled in the foxhole as the growl of Russian tanks crept closer, their steel tracks chewing at the grassy fields of eastern Ukraine. For over two hours, the 33-year-old Croatian and his fellow fighters with Ukraine’s International Legion had been hunted by the drones that prowled the skies around Ternova, a tiny village just five kilometres from the Russian border. Now they were pinned, with no escape.
Tank shells ripped through the lip of the trench. Shrapnel pierced Luka’s right arm and then his leg. He fumbled to tighten two tourniquets, but couldn’t get a strong twist. Beside him, Michael O’Neill, a 47-year-old Australian they called Taz, lay dead. Luka radioed for help but the rest of his company, he thought, was still far away.

Pick up a copy or subscribe online to get the July 24th edition of the Opasquia Times to read more about a local hero.