Ukrainian soldier receives liver transplant in Finland after chemical attack

A Ukrainian soldier who was poisoned by a chemical weapon in the Donetsk region has received a life-saving liver transplant in Finland, according to a report by Finnish broadcaster Yle.

Volodymyr Gets, a soldier in Ukraine’s armed forces, was exposed to a chemical agent during fighting in Bakhmut in October 2023. The poisoning led to liver cirrhosis, a condition that proved fatal for one of his comrades in Ukraine.

Gets, who had lived in Finland before the war, returned to Ukraine to defend his country following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. After his condition deteriorated, he traveled to Finland for treatment, where he underwent a successful liver transplant at Helsinki University Hospital nine months ago. He is now recovering in a rehabilitation center in Espoo.

Russia has used chemical weapons in Ukraine over 13,300 times since the start of the war, according to Ukraine’s defense ministry. The most commonly deployed agents are chloropicrin and CS tear gas, often delivered by FPV drones. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has confirmed the use of toxic chemicals on the battlefield, with the US, Netherlands, and Germany also reporting systematic violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention by Russia.

Finland has treated around 60 Ukrainian patients, including soldiers, during the war.