Mackenzie Hughes of Calgary was serving in Zaporizhzhia region when Russia attacked his position. Now, he hopes to get back on the battlefield
Janice Dickson
September 22, 2025
The Globe and Mail
Mackenzie Hughes, a 23-year-old from Calgary, was serving in southern Ukraine when the Russian military attacked his position with a Shahed drone, causing a van to pin him down and catch on fire.
From a hospital in Kyiv, about two months later, he recalled the tale of how he was stuck under the van as flames worked their way up his legs and how, fortunately, one of his comrades saved him. Doctors estimate 28 per cent of his body is covered in burns. But despite all he’s been through, he is choosing to stay in Kyiv and vows to return to the fight once he’s recovered. “I’m not going to sit in Lviv or Kyiv and do nothing while there’s a war going on, you know? That’s outrageous behaviour,” he said. “Every day somebody’s dying, getting killed by a Russian rocket or a Russian artillery shell, and it’s super sad to even think about, but you see it every day, you hear about it every day.”
Mr. Hughes was working in construction before going to Ukraine in August, 2022. His father, Paul Hughes, went in early March of that year, and launched a humanitarian organization called Helping Ukraine Grassroots Support, or HUGS for short. Initially, Mr. Hughes worked alongside his father delivering humanitarian supplies, and helping people in need. But he’d been interested in joining an international military unit, and after one of his best friends was killed in the war, he felt compelled to fight.
Paul said he saw the horrific images of the first days of Russia’s war in Ukraine, so he decided to go to help. Mr. Hughes said he was inspired by his dad. “He always taught me to stand up to bullies, you know, help the little guy.”
Mr. Hughes is one of many Canadians to fight in Ukraine, though it’s hard to determine exact figures. Global Affairs Canada said it does not maintain a registry of Canadians serving in volunteer units in Ukraine, or a registry of Canadians who have been injured or killed there. However, the department said it is aware of twenty-five Canadians who died in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022. This figure includes all causes of death.
After the drone struck their position, and his foot was pinned down by the vehicle, Mr. Hughes said he called to his comrades for help. They struggled to lift the van, he said. A fire then broke out and started growing. “We’re panicking and trying to get the vehicle off of me and it just wasn’t happening and the fire reached my legs. My legs caught fire, and I thought I was going to be stuck and burned to death, so I turned to my teammates and asked them to shoot me,” he said.
Mr. Hughes remembers one of his comrades, who he described as a bigger guy, giving him a look as if to say there was no way he would shoot him. “He just grabbed me and pulled me as hard as he could, leaned back and put his weight into it and ripped me out from underneath the vehicle and ripped off my toenail,” he said. Mr. Hughes then ripped off his pants, which were still on fire. They ran away from the area and waited for medical evacuation.
Mr. Hughes’ girlfriend and his dad drove across the country to meet him at the hospital. “They were beside me pretty much the entire time,” he said.
He spent a couple of days there, before he was airlifted to Kyiv, and later transferred to Lviv, where he underwent several procedures, including skin grafts. He was sent back to Kyiv to continue his rehabilitation. Mr. Hughes said in addition to the burns, he’s also endured muscle and tendon damage to his foot.
Mr. Hughes’s father said his son is an “old soul and he’s tough as nails,” adding that he has endured horrific injuries. “He’s just such an amazing young person and I love him so much and I’m so proud of him and Canadians should be proud of him. Canadians should be really proud of him because our country does a lot of talking and here’s a young man that’s doing the walking,” he said. “Mac Hughes is a war hero here and he’s a war hero back home and he deserves that recognition.”
On a recent day in Kyiv, Mr. Hughes, his girlfriend, and his dad went to a facility for physiotherapy where he took his first steps since undergoing skin graft surgery. “They asked me what I was able to do and what I was willing to try to do,” he said. “So I said, let’s walk.”
Janice Dickson is a reporter in The Globe and Mail’s Ottawa bureau. Previously, Janice was a reporter with The Canadian Press and before that she was a parliamentary reporter for iPolitics. Janice has also co-authored pieces for Newsweek and The Independent. While Janice’s coverage in Ottawa has focused on politics, she has also reported from Europe and the Middle East on the plight of refugees.