b. c. 1994
Illia Samoilenko
Azov intelligence officer “Gendalf”
A titanium hook in place of his left hand, an artificial right eye. And it was he who spoke to the world's press for the defenders of besieged Azovstal in 2022. Azov intelligence officer Illia “Gendalf” Samoilenko went on to survive 120 days of captivity in solitary confinement.
Key accomplishments
- Volunteered in 2015; returned to service after a severe wound in Donbas
- Intelligence officer of the Azov regiment during the defence of Mariupol (2022)
- Spoke for the Azovstal defenders at an online press conference from the besieged plant (May 2022)
- Defender of the Fatherland Medal (Decree No. 256/2022)
- Survived 120 days in solitary confinement in Russian captivity; freed in an exchange in 2022
A hook for a hand
Kyiv-born Illia Samoilenko studied history, and in 2015, with Russia already at war in Donbas, he joined the army. In the fighting in Donbas a round of ammunition went off in his hand: Illia lost his left hand and his right eye. He was fitted with a titanium hook in place of the hand and went back to his comrades in Azov. His call sign is “Gendalf”.
The voice of Azovstal
When the full-scale invasion began, Illia took up arms again. He was an intelligence officer of the Azov regiment in besieged Mariupol. On 8 May 2022, after weeks of holding out in the tunnels under the Azovstal steel plant, he and the regiment’s deputy commander Sviatoslav Palamar gave an online press conference to foreign journalists. Illia spoke about the siege and the hundreds of wounded who needed to be evacuated, and said the defenders no longer felt any fear.
120 days alone
When the garrison left the plant, Illia was taken prisoner. He was held at Olenivka and then in Russia, 120 days in solitary confinement. The Russians took his prosthetic hand straight away. He came home in September 2022 in an exchange that freed 215 Ukrainians, among them the Azov commanders Palamar and Denys Prokopenko. “I personally don’t consider myself a hero,” he said after his return, thinking of the comrades still in captivity.
Why it matters
Illia went back to service: as of July 2025 he was in charge of intelligence in Azov. His story shows that even after the heaviest losses, a person can return to the work they believe is theirs.
