“I Will Dance!”: Rinat Akhmetov Foundation Helps Choreographer Sofia Demydiuk Undergo Rehabilitation After Injury
28.09.2026
20-year-old Sofia Demydiuk was injured during the shelling of Kyiv on June 2, 2026. On her way to a shelter, the girl stopped to help an injured person. It was at that moment that a second strike occurred. Sofia suffered multiple fractures to her leg. Recently, she completed a rehabilitation course with the support of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.
“I am truly immensely grateful to Rinat Akhmetov and the entire team involved in this work for providing such an opportunity. I follow social media and see that they are actively helping everyone,” Sofia says.
A peaceful environment, fresh air, and rehabilitation sessions helped her regain her strength and focus on returning to what she loves most – dancing. The young woman is a fourth-year student at Kyiv University of Culture and plans to become a choreographer. After the injury, Sofia was most afraid that her leg injury would prevent her from dancing again.
“My first words to people were: ‘I’m a dancer, so how will I dance without a leg?’ At first, in those first few minutes, I thought I had lost my leg. My immediate thoughts were: ‘I have a concert on Sunday, my children are performing,’ and all of this was spinning around in my head. Then it turned out that I had a through-and-through wound: a fragment struck me and pierced my femur,” Sofia explains.
The girl remained conscious the entire time after the injury. The situation was complicated by the continuous air raid alert – due to the danger, the ambulance could not respond to the call. Passersby who happened to be there provided Sofia with first aid. It was only closer to morning that she was taken to hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery.
But barely having come to after anesthesia, Sofia was most worried that she would not be able to prepare her young pupils for the upcoming competition. She told her parents about the situation, and they took over the rehearsals: they worked with the children and then sent videos to Sofia. Thus, even from her hospital bed, she continued preparing her students for their performance.
“I was so happy when, that same day, after the competition, they came to the hospital to see me with their medals, as their coach. It really brought me to tears,” the girl says.
The injury forced Sofia to put her career on hold. Doctors warned that rehabilitation would be lengthy, as the damaged nerve needs time to recover. However, Sofia has not lost hope of returning to the stage as soon as possible. Today, she is already gradually returning to working with children and getting back into her usual rhythm of life. And her biggest dream remains unchanged – to be able to dance fully again.
“Dancing is the meaning of my life, and without it, I probably wouldn’t be myself. Actually, this is a difficult period for me now, because these were supposed to be the years when my career was flourishing. But for now, I need to recover. I know and believe, and everyone knows and believes, that everything will be fine, and I will dance! One hundred percent,” Sofia says.
As part of the Treatment and Rehabilitation for Wounded Adults project, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation supports civilians in Ukraine who have been affected by shelling. Since the project was launched, more than 11,000 Ukrainians have already received treatment and rehabilitation.
If you or someone you know needs help, message the Foundation at http://m.me/AkhmetovFDU or call the toll-free hotline at 0 800 509 001 (the line operates Monday to Friday).
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