Wasserson Report

BY MEGAN CERULLO

How one retired executive helped change a wounded Ukrainian soldier’s life

Retired businessman Gary Wasserson had never worked in the nonprofit world, but today he calls himself a humanitarian.

The 67-year-old former telecommunications industry executive from Philadelphia is in the midst of a full-fledged second act that began in 2022 after Russia launched an all-out attack on Ukraine. When Wasserson’s wife made him aware they had relatives in Ukraine, he didn’t miss a beat. In March 2022, he flew to Poland, where he assembled a network to help extract his relatives and other Ukrainians from their war-torn home country, in true grassroots fashion.

He has since relied on what he calls a “team of angels,” made up of professionals and volunteers to extract hundreds more Ukrainians. His efforts have also expanded beyond bringing relatives and strangers to safety to helping wounded Ukrainians receive prosthetics and more.

In Ukraine, through a videographer friend of his daughter’s documenting the war, he was also connected to Vladyslav Orlov, a special operations Ukrainian soldier who in October had been severely injured by a Russian explosive device.

“My experience was a very bad experience. I was blown up by Russians — something blew up in my car,” Orlov, 27, told CBS News. “I was stuck in the car and my teammates helped me out. I lost a little piece of my left foot and both of my legs were broken,” he explained.      MORE