An Israeli national who was recently wounded while fighting alongside Ukraine in its war against Russia called his survival story a "miracle."
Tichina Gandhi, 46, a Netanya resident was recuperating in a Kyiv hospital after sustaining a serious injury two weeks ago, fighting with the Ukrainian military.
Gandhi was initially evacuated to a hospital in Kharkiv, having sustained injuries to his legs and face, and was later transferred to Kyiv.
The Israeli-Ukrainian national joined the Ukrainian army one month after the Russian invasion. "I could not bear the thought that tanks were going into Odessa, my city, into the Jewish community, the place where I grew up," he said.
"I could not watch from the sidelines. I had to join the fight."
"We were four soldiers on an operation in the forest, two in the front and my friend and I in the back," he said, describing the incident that left him wounded.
"The first two stepped on an explosive and died on the spot, my friend and I also stepped on an explosive and were hurt," he said. "Due to the severe leg injuries, we crawled on our arms in the forest for a while in order to reach the soldiers who could treat us. The fact that I stayed alive is the biggest miracle," he said.
As an Israeli citizen, he was transferred to the hospital in Kyiv on Wednesday, with the assistance of Israeli voluntary response team ZAKA and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
"I need to undergo more surgeries and recovery, but the most important thing is that I'm alive," he said.