Caboolture soldier loses leg after stepping on landmine while in Ukraine

A Caboolture construction worker has been left stranded in Ukraine when his courageous mission for freedom took a tragic turn after he stepped on a landmine.

Brisbane soldier in Ukraine loses leg after stepping on landmine

A Caboolture construction worker, who heroically signed up to fight as a volunteer soldier in Ukraine, has tragically reached the end of his mission after standing on a landmine and losing his leg last month, while on Russian territory.

Casey Gadaleta, who had no prior military experience, put his life on the line by choosing to “stand up for freedom”.

The 38-year-old suffered for three weeks, without pain relief, for his leg to be amputated and now waits in limbo to know if he will also lose his hand as a result of the explosion.

The father-of-two arrived in Ukraine in March 2024 with determination to fight for “humanity and freedom” after being bombarded with horrifying media coverage of what was happening.

Mr Gadaleta is waiting for medical approval to return back to Brisbane.

His brother, Michael Williams, said Mr Gadaleta set out on the mission to offer help and give his life more purpose.

“He is very caring and thought that why shouldn’t other people have the great living standards that we have in Australia … He wanted to fight for humanity and democracy,” Mr Williams said.

“He was reflecting on his life and wanted to do something life changing,” he said.

Mr Gadaleta said he underwent several months of brutal training upon arrival in Ukraine to prepare him for the battlefield.

“At times we’d train for 22 hours, it was hard and almost everyone didn’t make it through,” Mr Gadaleta said.

He underwent several months of brutal training in Ukraine.

“No training can prepare you for dead bodies or being injured, it only helps you respond to it... They hammered us to see if we could do it.

Mr Gadaleta said he remembered losing his first friend who was hit directly next to him.

“His friend was hit with an artillery shell and there was nothing left of him to see. Casey said that moment made him realise the reality of the situation and he knew he would become hurt eventually,” Mr Williams said.

His family, who were able to communicate with Mr Gadaleta nearly daily, received the heartbreaking news that their brave soldier had been seriously injured on December 8, 2024, via a Facebook message.

After seeing his injuries Mr Gadaleta believed he would die.

Mr Gadaleta’s sister-in-law, Leiah Williams, said Mr Gadaleta was on an enemy trench in Russia when he stepped on a landmine.

“He developed hypothermia in the time that it took to get him to a hospital and didn’t receive treatment for 20 hours post injury,” Mrs Williams said.

“He said he lost copious amounts of blood, and he almost died from the blood loss.

“He was in agony, and his leg wasn’t splintered and was hanging over a stretcher, bouncing around for about six hours creating further damage to the bone in his leg,”

“He said, the medics refused the early treatment, so that’s kind of why there was so much blood loss,” she said.

Mr Gadaleta said after standing on the landmine he fell into a crater and “tried not to freak out”.

“After seeing my injuries, I then realised I might die,” Mr Gadaleta said.

“While I was lying in the crater the enemy came out to engage us but because the crater was so big, it gave me cover from being shot by the enemy,” he said.

Mrs Williams said Mr Gadaleta developed necrosis in his leg from the loss of blood which caused the need for amputation.

“They amputated the whole foot to halfway up his leg, they did not think that he would make it through the surgery because his blood level was still critically low three weeks post injury,” Mrs Williams.

Mr Gadaleta is now waiting for a doctor’s approval to let him travel back to Australia.

Mr Williams said his brother was waiting in an overcrowded hospital by himself with only Facebook messages from fellow volunteer fighters and his family for comfort.

Mr Gadaleta waited three weeks for his leg to be amputated with no pain relief.

“The medical care isn’t the greatest so we want to get him a first class ticket back to Australia as soon as possible,” Mr Williams said.

“He’s in excruciating pain and is going through a grieving process at the moment.

“One minute he’s angry then the next he’s hiding it with humour and coming to terms with the fact he has lost his leg.

“He is very proud of his sacrifice and has no regrets,” he said.

The family have started a GoFundMe to raise essential funds for Mr Gadaleta’s medical care upon his return to Brisbane.

Mrs Williams said his return date was unknown but the family hoped they would see him in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s going to be a huge transition from two legs to one and the mental impacts will be bigger than the physical,” Mrs Williams said.

“It was all an act of his selflessness, Casey’s courage and sacrifice deserves gratitude and support.

Lets come together to help him rebuild his life and ensure he has the resources to heal and thrive,” she said.

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