One Irishman's incredible tale of heroism: 'I sold everything to go and fight the Russians in Ukraine. I fought, I was promoted, I was shot, then my legs were blown off by a landmine. I regret nothing - and there's even a silver lining...'

Published: 17:31, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 17:31, 30 June 2026 A young Irishman whose legs were blown off fighting for Ukraine said he would do it all again to help defend the country against Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In an exclusive interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday this week, Calvin Price, from Blanchardstown in Dublin, spoke about the catastrophic injuries that he has suffered during his two years on the front lines of the biggest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. The 27-year-old volunteer was speaking from his hospital bed in Lviv, in the west of the country, where he is waiting to begin the process of being fitted with prosthetic limbs. Price is one of a handful of Irish people who have joined the Ukrainian volunteer brigades and one of the few to speak publicly on the record about their experiences.  His story is all the more remarkable given that in January 2024, just weeks before he arrived in Ukraine, he was running in his own car valet and window tinting firm in Dublin and had no combat experience. ‘It’s actually crazy how I ended up coming here,’ he admitted by phone this week. ‘I was sitting up one night, I couldn’t sleep and I was clicking through Instagram and a video popped up.  'It was a news reporter interviewing women who had been held in Russian captivity, and they were just telling their story and what happened to them and what happened to their children. And that stuff just hit a nerve with me. ‘Two weeks later – on my birthday – I booked a flight and came over to try and help. The 27-year-old volunteer, pictured here with his partner Maria who's also from Dublin, was speaking from his hospital bed in Lviv, where he is waiting to fitted with prosthetic limbs ‘I sold everything, including my business, and came straight over ‘I’d no experience in combat, literally none at all but my whole idea was I’m strong, I’m fit, I’m heavily into the gym. ‘I was just sitting at home watching all these people that weren’t near as in good shape as me fighting and I figured I’d go over and get trained. ‘I jumped straight in and it wasn’t like anything I’d ever experienced before. I remember meeting up with these random soldiers, one was American, one was from the Czech Republic, and another one was Canada. Calvin - with the Irish tricolour on his helmet -  fighting on the frontline with Ukrainian comrade  ‘They just picked me up in some car with blown-out windows and brought me to live in a tent in a military base with missiles flying above us and soldiers flying around with guns. It was a surreal experience but I loved every minute of it, I won’t lie. ‘It was just so different. Ever since I was young, I wanted to join the military but due to Ireland’s tattoo policy in the military I wasn’t accepted [he has tattoos above the neckline, which isn’t permitted in the Irish Defence Forces]. So I was in my element in Ukraine, I am in my element.’ Most of his training happened ‘on the job’. ‘Initially I was training for a few months with the Da Vinci Wolfs [the First Assault Regiment of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps] before we got deployed up to Pokrovsk in the Donetsk Region and then things kind of went south in that Battalion, so I changed over unit to the Third Assault Brigade. ‘My training happened every day in between missions and being on assault assignments, so it was non-stop training.’ After quickly working his way up to the rank of sergeant, Price received his first serious injury nine months ago. ‘I got shot leading a six-man team mission, which ended up being ambushed by about 14 Russians. The number of Irish men who have volunteered for the Ukrainian army since the Russian war broke out in February 2022 is not known. However, a military expert estimates that around 30 volunteers have travelled from Ireland to the front lines of the conflict, of whom at least five have now been killed. Rory Mason, 23, from Dunboyne, Co. Meath, was killed in October of 2022 when he was fighting for Ukraine’s International Legion near the Russian border. In April 2023, Finbar Cafferkey, 45, a fluent Irish speaker who was from Achill, Co. Mayo, was also killed fighting on the front lines. Former US marine Graham Dale, from Raheny, Dublin, died in combat in December of 2023 after fighting for 18 months on the front. Alex Ryzhuk, 20, was killed fighting in August 2024. The remains of Mr Ryzhuk − who was born in Dublin to Ukrainian parents and lived in the Rathmines area – were not identified for more than a year. Robert Deegan, 29, from Newbridge in Co. Kildare was killed in combat in September 2024 while covering his team’s retreat during fierce fighting in an engagement with Russian forces. His family said he was also severely injured in Ukraine in 2022, when he lost an eye due during a missile strike. ‘We were very lucky to make it out of there alive but I ended up with a bullet into the leg. We were heavily outnumbered and we had to fall back – the Russians had heavy machine guns. ‘I had a tourniquet on my leg, we were in a dense forested area – drones were flying in, artillery started flying in, the whole forest was blowing up around us. ‘We eventually fell back enough to meet our supported forces and we managed to eliminate some of the Russians then and ultimately push them back. ‘But due to the area we were in, it was very hard to evacuate.  'We had to wait there two and a half days before we got the appropriate weather to evacuate. ‘Command said they could send a motorised robot that I could sit on but I chose to walk.  'We walked 20kms and we were still getting chased by drones.  'It was just crazy stuff. But I managed to get myself and my team out of there alive.’ After that incident, he was in hospital for a month as medics worked to save his leg. His medical team recommended a further three months of rehabilitation but he chose to return to the forces. ‘I was itching to get back to the front line but when the Ukrainian command saw my leg and the fresh wound, they wouldn’t let me back out. So I was just stuck training troops.’ It was at that point his girlfriend Maria, also from Dublin, came out to join him. ‘Maria came because I got shot. A typical Irish woman, she said that she was going to come over to kill me because I’d been shot,’ he laughs. ‘She was here for about two months in Izyum, very close to the front lines, about 25kms away, living in a military town with me. ‘Unfortunately, I didn’t often see her, I got to see her maybe an hour or two every evening because I’m a sergeant and even with my injury, I would be training soldiers, busy getting people ready for missions and all that.’ Then came the mission at the end of last year that would leave him with life-altering injuries. ‘I was told that it was to be a three-to-four-week combat mission and they told me to bring my sniper rifle. ‘We ended up getting encircled in our position and I stayed out there for four and half months. ‘Very little food, very little water, it was winter and minus 20C and we’d no source of heat. It was some experience. ‘Then when we were evacuating, I stepped on a landmine that none of us saw. It was as simple as that. ‘Thankfully I still have part of my legs so I can be fitted for prosthetics but yeah, I’m missing basically all of my legs. ‘But saying that, my legs have been shot up and blown up so many times that they weren’t in the best condition, so at least now I get new robot legs.’ Despite his horrific injuries, Calvin says he is determined to continue to fight in whatever capacity he can against the invading Russian forces 'We walked 20kms and we were still getting chased by drones,' Calvin told the Mail on Sunday Articulate and relentlessly cheerful, Price says his positive attitude has got him through some of the darkest days. ‘So many people ask me all the time over here, “How are you so happy? How do you laugh?” And I say to them, you’ve never met an Irishman from Dublin. ‘But seriously – I know there have been tough days and there will be tough days ahead.’ His admits his family back in Dublin were against him going to Ukraine from the start, apart from his granny. ‘As you can imagine, my mother was not impressed in the slightest, neither were my little brothers, who are 22. ‘My grandmother, though, was very supportive. She knew I’d wanted this for a long time and she said to do it if it’s the right thing. ‘But they’re all worried sick, especially with what has happened. ‘My mother is on the phone every single morning. They’re itching to come and see me but I want to have the prosthetics fitted first… I don’t want them to see this.’ The Ukrainian army continues to pay his wages and contribute to his hospital care but the best care is expensive and he needs to raise the money for this himself. ‘I’m currently in the process of operations, researching hospitals, rehab clinics and organising what I need in terms of my recovery. ‘But as you can imagine, the cost is very high if I want the correct help to recover. ‘The process I am in and the standard of help I get now is going to shape the rest of my life. ‘I want to get the best possible help available needed to recover, so I can return back to work helping Ukraine the way they deserve, training soldiers and providing support in various ways.’ Donations to his GoFundMe page are far short of its target. ‘It’s kind of hit a standstill because there’s only so many people that me and my family can send the links to. ‘I don’t think there’s been a donation in a few weeks, if I’m honest.’ Despite his horrific injuries, he is determined to continue to fight in whatever capacity he can against the invading Russian forces. ‘I’m still a soldier – there’s still work to be done. ‘When you see what’s out there, it’s pitiful. I’ve defended towns that I can’t name for security reasons. All the people that remain in these towns are just elderly people who haven’t any money, that can’t escape. ‘They’re left sitting in towns and villages that have been blown apart and they’re going around the town trying to sell goats’ milk, apples and other basic stuff. It’s just heartbreaking. ‘But it’s good knowing that you’re helping them, and when you walk by they shake your hand and they thank you.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.