Ukrainian soldier survives 36 days with tourniquet on leg, undergoes surgery

This was reported by Ukraine's Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern Region.

According to the report, 41-year-old Oleksandr could not be evacuated from the position on the battlefield  near Vovchansk for over a month. During that time, his leg remained bound by a tourniquet, which is typically used for no more than two hours. Before doctors intervened, Oleksandr had been with the tourniquet for 36 days, or 864 hours. Even the most experienced military surgeons said they had never seen anything like it.

The soldier arrived at the hospital conscious and explained that he had been injured when he stepped on a mine.

"I couldn’t be evacuated for a month and six days. Then the weather worsened, the drones stopped for a while, and they were finally able to take me out. The guys helped me with the tourniquet, I couldn’t do it myself. From the second day after my injury, I knew I’d lose my leg. But I didn’t focus on that anymore. I just wanted to live, to get back to my family, to my sons. I have two sons. The older one is 12, the younger one is only 2. That’s what kept me going,” he said.

The soldier was brought to the hospital in critical condition, suffering from severe anemia and intoxication due to heavy blood loss. His hemoglobin level was dangerously low, which typically makes surgery risky. After stabilizing him with anesthesia, doctors proceeded with the surgery.

Surgeon Dmytro Sitchenko, who carried out the operation, said that the complications the soldier experienced were actually the least of what could have happened after 36 days with a tourniquet on his injured leg. He explained that gangrene developed, causing severe damage to the limb along with pus-filled complications.

“The man survived because the tourniquet was managed properly,” Sitchenko said. “Without it, or if it had been applied wrongly, he wouldn’t have made it. Military training is improving, and more soldiers are learning how to treat wounds in the field.”

Viacheslav Kurinnyi, the deputy head of the medical unit at the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern Region, added, “The soldier is alive, but sadly, the part of his leg under the tourniquet had to be amputated. Without the tourniquet, he would have died.”

The soldier will now be medically evacuated to the western part of Ukraine for further treatment and prosthetics.

• On November 8, the European Council decided to extend the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) until November 15, 2026.