“They took my arm and my leg, but I’m not gonna let them break my spirit.”
Matthew Cha, a 29-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Colorado, grew tired of people who said they supported Ukraine but did nothing. After four years as a combat engineer in the U.S. military, including service in Iraq, he volunteered to fight in Ukraine.
In the spring of 2026, Cha was critically wounded while disarming an explosive device. He spent two weeks in a coma and lost his left arm, left leg and part of his vision.
Cha is now preparing to travel to Minnesota for complex prosthetic treatment through the U.S.-Ukrainian Protez Foundation. But he says his fight is not over. If doctors can restore enough of his vision, he hopes to return to Ukraine as a drone pilot.
Watch Matthew’s story and meet the specialists helping him rebuild his life.
