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'REFLEX' HERO
Brave medic who shielded injured Ukrainian woman from rocket strike says he was ‘acting on instinct’
A HERO medic who risked his life to shield an injured woman from a rocket strike said he acted on instinct.
Brave Denys Petrenko used his body to protect her as troops and medics dashed for cover.
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The Red Cross volunteer was kneeling by the woman, hit by shrapnel moments earlier, when a second deadly blitz exploded.
The Sun filmed the moment when Denys stayed by her side as soldiers and other medics scrambled for shelter in Kharkiv.
He said: “It was a reflex. I was not thinking about it. I just want to help people.”
Our clip of the double-tap blitz, designed to hit first responders, has been seen more than one million times.
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Denys was hailed a hero but got in trouble with his mum, as he had told her he worked in an office as a first aid instructor.
He said: “My mum was really not happy.
"Everyone saw the video and they called her when she was in church.
"At first she didn’t understand what they were on about.
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“Then she watched it. She said, ‘Are you crazy! Don’t you care about my nerves’.”
At least five people died and 18 were injured in the Easter Sunday strike. The injured woman survived.
Denys and pal Alex Lebiedev, 24, were on an urgent mission to deliver food and drugs when their van was flagged down.
Medics and troops are trained to take cover in the event of a secondary blitz.
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Denys said: “According to our protocols I should have hid when the rockets started. But I was trying to bandage her wounds.”
Red Cross boss Kostiantyn Bashkirov said: “I am proud of him. I am proud of all our staff.
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