Combat Medic Leo – A Student of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University

“Hard or not, you just do it.”
This is how Leo, a 35-year-old combat medic who currently serves in a frontline unit while pursuing medical education, describes his approach to life and service.

His story demonstrates why the pilot project launched by the Ministries of Health, Education and Science, and Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, which allows combat medics to enroll in medical universities through a simplified admission procedure, is both timely and necessary.

Leo is an athlete with two higher education degrees and an authored scientific paper. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, he actively helped people: first as a volunteer, evacuating civilians from occupied territories, and later by joining the Separate Presidential Brigade.

Thanks to his background in chemistry, his knowledge of pharmaceutical substances, and his cooperation with volunteer organizations, he was appointed senior combat medic in his unit and later served as acting medical assistant (feldsher) of the battalion.

During his years of service, Leo completed professional medical training, worked with wounded soldiers, and made critical decisions in situations where every minute mattered. When he learned about the opportunity for combat medics to enroll in medical universities through a simplified admission process, he decided to seize the chance and became a student at I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University.

Today, Leo combines his service in the motorized infantry battalion of the 60th Separate Mechanized Inhulets Brigade with his medical studies, convinced that combat experience and academic education strengthen one another.

This is precisely the purpose of the pilot project—to enable combat medics who already possess real-world experience in extremely challenging conditions to obtain full professional medical education and continue working within the healthcare system as qualified specialists.

For medicine, this means strengthening the system with people who already have practical experience, strong motivation, and a deep understanding of the value of professional decisions in critical situations.

Leo says he sees his future in developing recovery systems for military personnel. His goal is to create a platform that helps soldiers recover more quickly after combat operations.

His personal principle remains unchanged:
“Step by step to victory.”