N.S. veteran injured in Ukraine war makes 'good and gut-wrenching' return home

The last thing Dustin Rekunyk remembers isa loud explosion on his left-handside.

The wall he was standing about 20 metres from blew up, breaking his shoulder, bruising four of his ribs and leaving him with a concussion.

The single father from Halifax didn't find out thesedetails until he woke up later in a recovery area for injured foreign fighters in Ukraine.

Rekunyk, a fourth-generation Ukrainian who served with the Canadian Armed Forces for 15 years, took his first trip to his family's ancestral homeland in Aprilto help defend it against the Russian invasion.

He's among agroup ofCanadiansleaving their homes behind to volunteer in the war effort.

Rekunyk returned to Nova Scotia on April 24 so he could get medical care for his injuries, but he saidhis mission in Ukraine isn't over. Landing back in Halifax felt both "good and gut-wrenching all at the same time," he said.

"It feels like I've left a piece of my heart in Ukraine," Rekunyktold CBC Radio's Mainstreetthis week."There's still a job and a mission to do there, and I've got to see that through."

Hear DustinRekunyk's fullinterview with Mainstreet:

Military losses mount in Ukraine as war rages on

2 years ago

Duration 2:04

More than three months into the Ukraine war, military casualties are mounting on the front lines. But Ukraines army is far from defeat, showing signs of resilience.

He didn't want to wait

Rekunykfirst signed up with the International Legion of Defence of Ukraine (ILDU), an organization created by Ukraine forforeigners who want tovolunteer to fight in the country.

He was put on a list of people waiting to be deployed, but after being interviewed byMainstreet last month, someone reached out and toldRekunykthey knew a quicker way for him to get there.

"Within about five days of telling them, 'Yup, I want to go,' I was in Ukraine," said Rekunyk, who ended up fighting with an organization similar to ILDUmade up of soldiers from Canada, the U.S., Britain and elsewhere.

He said the group wasindependent from the Ukrainian army, but the country's military knew they were there and gave them supplies.

After landing at a safe house in Lviv, in western Ukraine, Rekunyktravelled to a base of operations inDniproandeventually to theeastern Ukrainian region ofDonetsk andLuhansk, where Russia is now focusing much of its attack.

The first week he heard air raid sirens almost every night but it was relatively quiet in terms of fighting, saidRekunyk.

"But the second week, kind of that Monday local time, Ukraine ...it all kind of started off. It was absolute chaos and hell on earth," he said.

Rekunykpreviously spent 15 years in the Canadian Army, including with thePrincess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry,but said he's never experienced the "World War II-esque" style of combathe saw in Ukraine where it was just soldier after soldier coming at a person.

"There's no amount of training and no amount of psychological build up that can really, I would argue, prep you for what comes."

About 72 hours after Russia began its assault onthe region of Donetsk andLuhansk, Rekunyk was injured and made the decision to travelhome to Nova Scotia to get medical care.

Because he wasn't part of theILDU, he wasn't able to go to a military hospital in Ukraine, he said.

"I haven't yet fully processed just how truly blessed and lucky I am. It will sink in, but it hasn't yet," he said.

Reuniting with his son

For Rekunyk, fighting for Ukraine has given him a new sense of belonging and connection to his heritage.

"I want to reconnect with that a lot more now ... picking up language courses so I can learn the Ukrainian language a lot better and kind of get back in touch with those roots," he said.

But healsowants other Canadians to think very carefully about what joining the war effort means.

He has a 12-year-old son he feared he wouldn't see again.

When the two reunited at the end of April, "it was just tears, a huge hug, and he was just really, really happy I was home and safe,"Rekunyk said.

He plans to return to Ukraine when he's strong enough, but for now,he's not thinkingthat far into the future.

"Right now, it's more focusing just on spending time with him here and now," he said.