Putin Grants Russian Citizenship to 10-Year-Old Nearly Killed in Donbass

Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Russian citizenship to seven Donbass refugees, including a 10-year-old boy, Vanya Voronov, injured in the shelling.

The decree was signed by the president on Sunday and published online.

The life of an ordinary Donbass family was ruined in the blink of an eye. On January 2, the home where Vanya’s family lived in the small city of Shakhtarsk came under fire by Ukrainian forces. During the shelling, the boy sustained severe injuries. He lost his legs, his arm and almost went blind. His younger brother and step-father were killed.

In mid-January, Vanya and his mother were moved for treatment to Moscow. He was admitted to the Emergency Surgery and Children's Trauma Institute, headed by renowned Russian pediatrician Leonid Roshal. The best doctors of the hospital were called to rescue the child.

Since then, Vanya has undergone a series of complex surgeries. The doctors managed to save boy’s knee-joints and made prosthetic legs. Vanya is learning to walk again under the care of his doctors. The doctors now are making a prosthetic arm for him. Ophthalmologists say there is still a chance to restore Vanya’s eyesight.

Vanya has no time to lose and says he wants to return to his normal life.