After losing her leg to a Russian missile attack, this 10-year-old Ukrainian gymnast is telling her story through dance

By Emile Nuh, CNN

(CNN) — Just over four years ago in May 2022, 10-year-old Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast Sasha Paskal and her mother, Maria, were enjoying some time together in the scenic seaside village of Zatoka in the Odesa region of southwestern Ukraine.

It was a sunny day and they were getting ready to head out to the beach, but within a few short moments, their lives would be changed forever.

Russia had launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three months prior in February 2022, but on that day, there was nothing to alert the pair they were in imminent danger.

The air raid siren in their neighborhood didn’t go off, and they didn’t see or hear anything untoward, before a missile struck the family’s seaside home and had devastating effects, shattering it into nothing more than stones, rebar and concrete slabs.

Despite initially losing consciousness herself as a result of the explosion, Maria still vividly remembered the atrocity when recounting it to the Museum of Civilian Voices.

“Our daughter was lying on her belly. A concrete slab, a very heavy and very large one, was lying on her leg,” she said. “Her arm was dislocated, so that her bones were seen, and her finger was hanging loose. She also had a lot of bruises on her head.”

Neighbors eventually helped Maria lift the concrete slab from Sasha’s crushed leg, and they rushed her to hospital, where she spent 15 days in intensive care in a medically induced coma.

Doctors were initially most concerned about the effects from a severe head injury she had sustained. But they later found that blood circulation to her left leg had stopped and the limb remained cold, leaving them no choice but to amputate.

For many, this would have marked the end of a budding athletic career, but not for Sasha, as “my passion for sport is bigger than my loss,” she told CNN Sports. So following seven months of rehabilitation and learning how to walk with a prosthetic leg, she was back in the gym.

Then, just seven months later, she returned to the sport she loves – rhythmic gymnastics – where incredibly, she won her first competition performing with a prosthesis in Chornomorsk.

“Gymnastics is one of the most important things in my life,” she said. “I like it very much. It’s my everyday opportunity to be fit (and) it’s my passion.”

That passion earned Sasha the “Future of Ukraine” state honor by President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska last year. And today, it has taken her to almost every corner of the globe.

Dancing for freedom

Sasha is currently in Tokyo preparing for the final stop of her Dance of Freedom Tour, a global initiative launched by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation in partnership with FC Shakhtar Donetsk to amplify the voices of Ukrainians whose lives have been affected by the war.

The tour is also dedicated to the upcoming 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence on August 24, linking Sasha’s personal story to the country’s ongoing fight for freedom.

Over the past two weeks, the 10-year-old has performed in Paris, New York’s Times Square, Rio de Janeiro and Nairobi before arriving in Japan, showcasing her talents to the world and using dance as a universal language to tell her story, and that of her country.

“It’s an unbelievable experience,” she said. “Each city is amazing and beautiful in its own way, (and) I’m really happy to travel because it’s an opportunity to distract myself from what’s going on in Ukraine.”

Her mother, her number one fan who’s been with her every step of the way, has been watching every performance.

“She’s unbreakable,” Maria told CNN Sports. “She’s so strong and motivated. We are very proud because, although she’s very young, she’s a role model for many people with similar circumstances. We never pushed her, what she’s doing comes from her and we support her in her desire to do gymnastics.”

Ukraine’s children still dream

With the war into its fifth year, the toll on Ukraine’s children continues to grow.

According to UNICEF, more than a third of the country’s children – almost 2.6 million – remain displaced. More than 3,200 children have been killed or injured since February 24, 2022, and more than 1,700 schools and education facilities have been damaged or destroyed, leaving one in three children without full-time in-person education.

The situation remains serious, and it’s one that has made the work of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation more important than ever. “Since the war started, the role of the foundation has grown significantly,” Yuri Sviridov, a member of the foundation’s supervisory board, told CNN Sports.

“They (Ukrainian children) have gone through a very difficult period of time, and we never want any kids in other countries to experience what they have experienced. (But) we believe that, one day, the war will be over and kids like Sasha will develop and be educated.

“Like she said, ‘My passion for sport is bigger than my loss.’ This is a very strong statement from a girl just 10 years old. So I believe she will achieve a lot in the future and we will continue supporting her.”

Despite everything she’s been through, Sasha continues to inspire and remind people around the world that Ukraine’s children still have dreams that can’t be stifled, even in the most adverse circumstances.

And for her, that dream is clear: “To participate in the Paralympics in Brisbane in six years and win a gold medal,” she said, if rhythmic gymnastics is included in the program.

It would certainly not be wise to bet against her either.

Earlier this year, she won a gold medal at the prestigious Carla’s Rhythmic Cup, an international rhythmic gymnastics competition held annually in Romania.

And just last week in New York, former undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk – who also won an Olympic gold medal at London 2012 – gave the 10-year-old advice on how to turn that dream into reality:

“Do as I did in the past,” he told her. “Take a piece of paper (and) write your name and that you’re an Olympic winner. Read it every day and this will motivate you.”

Ukraine President Zelensky himself had one lasting message for her when they met: “Please never give up, and just move forward.”

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