Ukrainian Paralympian escapes Russian-held city to safety

ZAPORIZHZHIA: With her wheelchair perched on her lap, Ukrainian world champion powerlifter Raisa Toporkova escaped with friends from the occupied city of Enerhodar where Russian forces were shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power facility. They had lost their homes, but not their sense of humor. “If the Russians came after us, at least we have our sticks to defend ourselves,” joked Yevhenii Razikov, who has cerebral palsy and shared the perilous journey to safety.

Crammed into a car with several others with special needs, Toporkova spent 12 hours negotiating a series of checkpoints to flee the city in southern Ukraine. “It would be impossible to get out of the car if something happened,” Toporkova, who was fifth at last year year’s Tokyo Paralympics, told AFP in the regional capital Zaporizhzhia. “My wheelchair was on me and two of the others need a stick to walk.” More than 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes since Russia invaded on February 24, but for people with disabilities, the often long and difficult journey can be an almost impossible undertaking.

Russian troops shelled Enerhodar, the site of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in early March, causing a fire, which was eventually put out. The attack led to international outrage with memories still fresh of the 1986 explosion at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the world’s worst nuclear accident. Toporkova, who has been in a wheelchair for most of her life due to a musculoskeletal growth disorder, said the situation was deteriorating fast in Enerhodar after a month under Russian control.