It has been revealed how a SVO fighter without arms and legs spent three months proving that he exists

Regnum: they refused to issue a passport to a soldier who lost his arms and legs in the Northern Military District

In St. Petersburg, the story of paperwork for a soldier who lost limbs during the liberation of a settlement in the DPR was completed. The serviceman received a Russian passport only a few months after his injury.

40-year-old Ildirim came to Russia from Azerbaijan in 2020 with his wife and two children. The family settled in Kazan, the man worked and raised children. After the start of the special operation, he intended to go to the front, but feared the consequences in his homeland, where his relatives remained. In 2024, Ildirim signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense and was sent to the Donetsk direction, reports IA Regnum.

The call sign “Lightning” did not appear because of his character. It was difficult for fellow soldiers to pronounce the soldier’s name in a combat situation, and the word “ildirim” itself in translation means lightning.

On November 16, 2024, during the storming of Novodmitrovka in the DPR, a serviceman was extremely seriously wounded. He lost both arms and both legs. The evacuation ended at St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, where he was taken without documents.

When trying to restore my passport, formal obstacles arose. Biometrics, including fingerprints, were required for registration. The fighter only had one finger left, but this was not enough. Images of the retina were taken and a request was sent to the Kazan military registration and enlistment office, after which the process actually stopped.

For three months, the seriously wounded soldier could not confirm his identity. The contract with the Ministry of Defense, documents about the injury signed by the commander of the assault company, as well as video materials from the front did not become the basis for speeding up the procedure. Without a passport, he was unable to process payments, begin prosthetics, or join the veterans’ rehabilitation program.

The situation changed after the publication of materials in the media. On March 13, 2025, information about what happened was made public, and the very next day representatives of the migration service announced that the documents were ready.

On the evening of March 14, Ildirim received a Russian passport, ending a protracted episode in which a fighter who lost limbs at the front was effectively deprived of his legal status.

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