As the sun bathed the football pitch in a warm embrace, goalkeeper Yevgen Nazarenko could not help but chuckle as he went through his warm-up routine.
The request was simple: stretch your hands. Yet, there was a catch; Yevgen only had one hand to stretch.
Close by, Oleg, a man with a single foot, let out a groan and teetered precariously while attempting push-ups.
Both of these remarkable men had paid a steep price for their homeland, losing limbs in the fierce battles that have ravaged Ukraine.
Every week, a spirited dozen or so amputees assemble in the heart of Kyiv for a unique brand of football training.
In their previous lives, they were regular players, but now they lean prosthetic legs against the sideline of a small artificial pitch.
Oleg, a 46-year-old former officer in the 46th Air Assault Brigade, now finds himself embroiled in Ukraine's counteroffensive in the southern town of Robotyne.
He recalls the chilling events of last December when a heartless assailant fired a grenade launcher attached to a rifle from just 7 meters (23 feet) away.
His face glistened with sweat as he clung to his crutches while recounting: "The Russian got scared. If he had held the rifle more firmly, he would have hit me somewhere in the middle of my chest, and I would not be playing here now."
The physical toll is evident, but the emotional one runs just as deep.
Oleg, a former policeman and a father of two, reflected on the mental battle: "I have seen with my own eyes many guys who lost their limbs, how people just broke down, could not stand this terrible tragedy and started doing bad things, drugs or something else ... It is not easy to withstand this, believe me."
Yet, with a broad smile, he added: "I remember the first time when I came to from the morphine. I lifted up the thermal blanket and looked, and my foot was not there ... I felt like my life was over, but I am still here."
Before losing his right foot, Oleg had shown incredible resolve, returning to the battlefield twice after sustaining wounds.
He even sought a fake medical certificate to stay with his comrades.
However, the loss of his foot brought a stark realization, "I realized that I was already afraid ... not even of losing my life but of becoming even more disabled," he said.
Amid a five-a-side match, goalkeeper Nazarenko defied his physical limitations, exuding boundless energy, his T-shirt drenched in sweat, its left sleeve hanging empty.
This 31-year-old sergeant, once a pilot of reconnaissance drones, had his life altered forever in May 2022 when a faulty shell exploded just 10 meters away from him, taking his arm.
Taking a break, he declared his desire to inspire his wounded comrades: "I want to show the other lads who got wounded that life does not end and you do not have to sit at home."
With steely determination, he has mastered the art of piloting a drone with one hand, with plans to return to service once he receives a prosthetic arm.
With a left foot that is still intact, Oleksandr Malchevskiy, 31, delivers goal after goal, showcasing both power and agility on his crutches.
Despite losing his right leg below the knee due to shelling near Kharkiv in May 2022, he maintains an unshakable spirit.
"I have a wife. I have a 9-year-old son. I do not want to sit in a wheelchair for 10 years and have them take care of me," he said.
He insisted that his amputation has had no impact on his mental fortitude, stating, "Because no one forced me: I volunteered in the first days (of war). I knew there was a risk ... We keep on living, that's all."
Volodymyr Samus, 42, who was wounded by shelling near Avdiivka, shared a similar sentiment: "You adapt."
His story is one of endurance, having laid wounded under heavy shelling until 4 p.m. when he finally reached the hospital.
Now, with a missing leg, he described the experience as akin to a child learning to walk, saying: "It is a completely new feeling. Just like a child learning to walk, we are learning to play football again."
