An Australian who lost the lower part of his left leg and had his left hand shattered while fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war has made a desperate plea for help from the Australian government.
Casey Gadaleta, 38, was a volunteer soldier fighting for Ukraine in Kursk, Russia, when his unit approached an area controlled by Russians and North Koreans. The Queenslander was serving in the 80th Brigade and using the call sign ‘Dundee’, after the classic 1986 Australian film Crocodile Dundee.
On December 8, four months into his deployment, his six-man unit was in Kursk, deep in Russian territory, when he stood on a land mine and the explosion pierced his left foot and left hand.
Gadaleta, who in 2021 was imprisoned for attack a man at a party, he said Seven news Thursday that delays and poor medical treatment in Ukraine led to the amputation of his left leg due to necrosis.
He fears losing the use of his left hand and wants the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to arrange a medical evacuation flight back to Australia.
But the former steelworker, a science graduate, said his request to DFAT has not been answered.
‘I need bone grafts, tendon grafts, multiple surgeries. Then there is rehabilitation,” he said from his hospital bed in Kyiv.
Casey Gadaleta (pictured) lost the lower part of his left leg and his left hand was shattered while fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war.
‘I haven’t heard from DFAT, they haven’t given me any help. The Australian embassy in Poland said they would call back in a couple of days, but they never did.
The longer she has to wait, the more critical Gadaleta’s need for urgent medical attention becomes.
He remembered the horror of stepping on the landmine less than four weeks ago.
‘Literally, like a step and there’s a bright light and I thought our guys accidentally threw a grenade at me. “I thought these guys just hit me by accident,” he said.
Due to the shock his body suffered, he didn’t feel anything at first, but he soon realized what had happened.
‘Someone shouted are you okay? and I said “Bro, my leg is gone.” He said ‘What?’ I said “Bro, he’s gone.”
The Russians began firing their weapons and advanced towards their position. Then, when he grabbed his gun, he realized that his left hand was in pieces.
His colleagues were unable to help him and told him he had to use his medical training and tourniquets to try to stop the bleeding.
‘I’m begging you, I’m breaking down. I screamed, “I’m going to die, I’m going to freeze to death. I’m bleeding so much.”
Gadaleta said he spent 20 hours without first aid or painkillers as he sat soaked in blood at -4 degrees.
“I honestly thought, yeah, I’m going to die.”
Casey Gadaleta (pictured) was a volunteer soldier fighting for Ukraine in Kursk, Russia, when he stepped on a land mine.
Gadaleta (pictured) wants the Australian government to take him home for hospital treatment.
He was eventually taken back to Ukraine, to a hospital in the capital, kyiv.
But the three-week wait for surgery led to him losing his lower leg, he said.
‘My leg died, it basically turned black. “They had to amputate,” he said.
He also has shrapnel in his arm and face and is desperate to return to Australia for treatment for his injuries.
Gadaleta said he volunteered for the Ukrainian Armed Forces because of war crimes committed by Russia since it invaded its neighbor in February 2022.
‘I was disgusted and thought, how can a human being do that to another human being?’ And I just thought, ‘I want to give my life for this cause,'” he said.
‘I wasn’t naive about it. I knew with all the losses it wasn’t a matter of if, but when I would get injured.’
He also saw fighting in Ukraine as a way to atone for his past; In addition to the assault conviction, he had also been previously charged, but acquitted of attempted murder.
“I sacrificed my body and I was willing to sacrifice my life,” he said. ‘I paid my own way here. I paid rent and food. I sold my investment property to cover it all.’
The Sunshine Coast man said the Australian government should evacuate him home as it would cost a fraction of the $1.3 billion it has spent providing tanks, Bushmasters and aid to Ukraine.
Surprisingly, he said that he wants to return to battle after his injuries are treated and healed.
“My attitude hasn’t changed,” he said.
“I’ll be back as soon as I get the prosthesis.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.