Heartwarming footage has emerged of a Ukrainian nurse enjoying her first dance at her wedding in a Lviv hospital after she lost both of her legs in a Russian mine explosion.
Oksana, 23, was walking alongside her husband Viktor in their home town of Lysychansk in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region on March 27 when she stepped on a mine.
The couple were returning home ‘along a familiar path’, according to the Lviv medical association, when Oksana took one fateful step and was caught in a horrific blast just a split second later.
Viktor was not injured, but Oksana had both of her legs and four fingers on her left hand blown away in the explosion.
Miraculously, the young nurse survived, and after four operations to stabilise her injuries was evacuated west towards the city of Dnipro, before arriving in Lviv by train four days ago to be fitted with prosthetics.
Upon arriving in Lviv, the pair, who have two children, decided to tie the knot.
The beautiful footage, captured by a nurse, showed Viktor holding Oksana aloft in a warm embrace as the couple twirled gently around the hospital room to the applause of happy onlookers.
Oksana, 23, was walking alongside her husband Viktor in their home town of Lysychansk in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region on March 27 when she stepped on a mine. Miraculously, the young nurse survived despite losing both her legs, and after four operations to stabilise her injuries was evacuated west towards the city of Dnipro, before arriving in Lviv by train four days ago to be fitted with prosthetics
The beautiful footage, captured by a nurse, showed Viktor holding Oksana aloft in a warm embrace as the couple twirled gently around the hospital room to the applause of happy onlookers
Ukraine’s parliament described Oksana and Viktor’s wedding as the culmination of ‘a very special love story’
Ukraine’s parliament shared the wonderful news via their official Twitter account, posting footage of the couple’s first dance as husband and wife and wishing them future happiness.
The tweet described Oksana and Viktor’s wedding as the culmination of ‘a very special love story’ and wished the couple ‘happiness and long years together’.
‘Life should not be postponed until later, decided Oksana and Victor, who in six years together never found time for marriage,’ the Lviv medical association said.
The association told Sky News they bought wedding rings in Lviv, found Oksana a white dress, and enjoyed a wedding cake baked by volunteers at the hospital.
Their wedding celebration took place on the ward of the surgery centre ahead of Oksana’s preparations to be fitted with prosthetic limbs and begin learning how to walk again.
Oksana is now preparing to travel to Germany with her husband for further treatment.
Their wedding dance is the latest in a string of touching clips of Ukrainians expressing their love for each other in the midst of war.
Footage released in early April captured the inspiring moment a Ukrainian soldier proposed to his girlfriend next to a pile of sandbags on the streets of war-torn Odesa.
The hero husband-to-be got down on one knee before his flabbergasted girlfriend, whose shock suddenly turned to joy as she realised exactly what was going on.
The soldier produced a ring from his fatigues, which caused the young woman to cover her mouth with both hands before shrieking and saying ‘YES!’, the viral TikTok shows.
None the wiser: the pair met up by a pile of sandbags in Odesa, but she had no idea what’s next
The woman’s surprise turns to sheer joy when she realises what her boyfriend is asking
After placing the ring on his fiancée’s finger, which fitted perfectly, the husband to be watched on as his girlfriend celebrated her good fortune with a fist pump.
He then brought a huge bouquet of flowers to top it all off.
Though the couple’s names are unknown, the heartwarming clip has clearly touched a nerve, gaining 850,000 views and 179,000 within just a few hours of being posted.
Supportive comments, mostly in Ukrainian, saw well-wishers hoping the soldier stays safe during the war.
One user wrote: ‘Awww so sweet, live long and happy!’
Another added: May you be safe and victorious! Congratulations!’