Photo: Supplied
A New Zealander who was severely injured while fighting in Ukraine said he sang Aotearoa's national anthem to keep himself going as he was rescued.
Twenty-five-year-old Khol Gillies had to wait days to be evacuated from the battlefield, with his foot all but blown off, because fierce fighting made it nearly impossible to reach him.
Gillies, who is originally from Hawke's Bay, had been in Ukraine for six months fighting as a volunteer.
It's been three months since he was shot multiple times during a drone and ground attack. He's now recovering in a hospital in Europe after having his leg amputated.
Gillies told Checkpoint he still hasn't processed the day he was injured.
"We were manning our positions, and we came under a heavy attack. My comrades' weapons were destroyed and we were running out of ammunition," he said.
"Mine was the only functioning firearm, so I had to take point and obviously protect the group. Amongst all that, we started getting hit with drones, artillery bullet fire, small arms fire. My training and instincts really kicked in, and I wasn't really thinking too much. I was just doing."
During the attack, Gillies said his ankle was "blown off", leaving his knee shattered and a 10-to-15-centimetre gash down his leg.
"I knew from then on, we had to really get out of
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