A 12-year-old Ukrainian girl, Yana Stepanenko, who tragically lost her legs in a Russian missile attack last year, captured the world’s attention once again as she participated in the Lviv half marathon on Sunday.
Yana’s remarkable journey began on April 8, 2022, when a Russian missile struck Kramatorsk’s train station, claiming nearly 60 lives and leaving more than 100 people injured.
Among the victims were Yana and her mother, Natalia, who were knocked unconscious by the devastating impact.
When they regained consciousness, Yana, then just 11 years old, had lost both of her legs.
“I couldn’t get up. It was very painful – I looked at my legs and cried,” Yana recounted in an interview with United for Ukraine.
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Following the horrific incident, Yana and her mother embarked on a challenging path to recovery.
In July 2022, after receiving prosthetic legs in San Diego, California, through assistance from the United States’ Right to Walk Foundation, they began their journey towards regaining their mobility.
The family spent nine months in California for Yana’s rehabilitation before returning to Ukraine in August.
On Sunday, Yana’s indomitable spirit shone brightly as she went to Lviv to participate in the city’s half marathon.
In a heartwarming video shared by Run Ukraine, Yana, clad in a pink T-shirt, can be seen energetically navigating the race route with her prosthetic legs.
She ran around 70 meters, surrounded by a group of fellow runners with missing limbs and crutches.
“I’ve only recently got running prostheses, and I usually wear regular ones. So I’m just learning to run, a little scared because I’m not used to it yet,” Yana admitted.
She added: “But I want to support children who have also lost their legs and cannot run.
“I want them to see what I’m doing and say to themselves, ‘Yes! I can do it too! I can run too!'”
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The Lviv half marathon organizers marked the significance of the event by highlighting that it fell on the 557th day since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
In a statement on their website, they declared, “Ukrainians were expected to fall in 72 hours, yet they kept running until Day 557 and will keep running until the finish line. Until our victory.”
Approximately 1,900 participants joined Yana in the Lviv half marathon, an event that has been held annually since 2016, but was canceled in 2022.
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