After war took her leg, this Ukrainian gymnast refused to give up

When 10-year-old Ukrainian gymnast Sasha Paskal stepped onto the stage in New York's Times Square this week, she carried a message far bigger than her performance.After surviving a Russian attack that claimed her leg, Sasha now hopes her story will remind the world that Ukraine's children are still living through war.Ahead of her performance – she’s a rhythmic gymnast specializing in choreographed routines – Sasha and her mother, Maria, visited UN Headquarters, where they spoke to UN News about resilience, recovery and why, above all, children need peace.Bouncing backSasha had been training in rhythmic gymnastics since early childhood when her life changed dramatically in 2022.During the early months of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she was seriously injured in an attack in the Odesa region. A collapsing concrete slab crushed the bones in her leg, leaving doctors with no choice but to amputate the limb after she spent 15 days in a medically induced coma.Following months of rehabilitation, Sasha returned to the sport she loves, performing dance and acrobatic routines with a modern prosthetic leg.Over the past four years, she has competed alongside children without disabil...