Unsung hero: Frostbitten Russian cop refuses donations after saving people from blizzard

A Russian policeman has refused donations from people across Russia who offered to help him save his hand from amputation. The officer received severe frostbite after giving his clothes to people on a snowbound highway in a freezing, blinding storm.

“Guys, I don’t need any donations for my treatment or for any other needs! Your moral support is enough, thank you! I even did not expect this,” Danil Maksudov wrote on his Vkontakte social network page. 

The near-fatal incident took place on the highway near the city of Orenburg in the Russian Urals on January 2, when freezing conditions left dozens of motorists stranded. The traffic-jam blizzard, which lasted over 16 hours, left at least two people dead from frostbite.

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Maksudov told local media that he was deployed in evacuating people from these dangerous conditions. In the freezing cold he saw a young woman whose fur coat was completely wet from snow. Without any hesitation, he took off his winter jacket and gave it to her.

Then he saw a young boy who had freezing hands, Maksudov gave the boy his gloves. He also gave someone his cap and was left without any warm clothes in the freezing cold.
In complete darkness and blinding snow, he managed to grab the hand of a frozen man and escort him to the police and an ambulance.

The courageous officer probably didn’t notice that he himself had frostbitten fingers on his left hand frostbitten. Later in hospital he learned that the fingers and even his hand might be amputated. Treatment is gradually healing his hand now, however.

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The cop’s noble deed did not go unnoticed. People across Russia stormed social media, saying they were willing to donate money for his surgery.

“He is a real man, I want to help him to treat his hand and am ready to transfer 2,000 rubles ($26),” a car mechanic from the Russian southern city of Krasnodar wrote in a letter to the local media.

The policeman thanked the man, but said that he can’t take the money.

“Treatment is free of charge. Swelling and blackness [from the hand] are gradually fading. I’m getting help from relatives and colleagues. I probably won’t need any surgery,” Maksudov said. “But thanks anyway!”