Ukrainian gymnast Sasha Paskal performs in New York after losing leg in war

A 10-year-old Ukrainian gymnast brought Times Square to a standstill this week, performing aerial routines just months after losing her leg in a Russian missile strike that tore through her hometown. Sasha Paskal’s appearance in New York isn’t just a comeback story. It’s a statement.

A childhood interrupted by war

Sasha was seven years old when she first started training in rhythmic gymnastics in Kherson, a southern Ukrainian city that became one of the most heavily bombed in the country. She competed locally, won regional ribbons, and dreamed of national competitions. Then, in 2023, a strike hit close enough to change everything. She lost her right leg below the knee and spent weeks in a hospital, then months in rehabilitation.

Her mother, Iryna, told reporters that Sasha didn’t speak about gymnastics for nearly two months after the injury. “She just stared at the ceiling,” Iryna said. “We didn’t push her.”

But Sasha pushed herself.

Learning to move again — differently

Within six months of receiving a prosthetic limb, Sasha was back on a mat. Not performing the same routines she’d trained for years, but adapting them. Working with coaches in Kyiv who had never trained an amputee gymnast before, she rebuilt her balance, her timing, and eventually her confidence.

She didn’t return to competition quietly. Video of her performing a floor routine in Kyiv in early 2024 spread rapidly online, reaching humanitarian organizations and diaspora communities in Europe and North America.

That’s what brought her to New York.

Times Square performance draws thousands

Sasha performed on Tuesday as part of a cultural showcase organized by a Ukrainian-American advocacy group to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The event drew an estimated 4,000 people to the pedestrian plaza near 45th Street. She performed for just under four minutes, using a ribbon and hoop, moving with precision that stopped passersby mid-step.

She wore a blue and yellow leotard. She didn’t fall once.

“What Sasha represents is something we can’t manufacture,” said Marcus Holt, a spokesperson for the nonprofit that coordinated the event. “She’s a real child who went through something no child should, and she chose to keep going. That’s not a talking point. That’s a person.”

What comes next for Sasha

The trip to New York is part of a small international tour that will take Sasha and her mother to three European cities before they return to Ukraine in late April. Organizers say she has been invited to perform in Warsaw and London as well.

Back home, her coaches say they’re working toward entering her in adaptive gymnastics competitions, a category that’s still finding its footing internationally. There’s no guaranteed path, no obvious blueprint.

Still, Sasha is training five days a week. She’s ten years old, and she’s just getting started.