‘Maybe I’m bonkers, but I have a calling’: Ukraine’s medics on frontline | Ukraine

WWhen Russia invaded in 2022, Roman Vozniak gave up on his life. A civilian doctor, he joined the Ukrainian National Guard. “I decided to become a medic. I told his wife I would be going home in two months,” he said. Two years later, Vozniak is still on the front lines treating wounded soldiers. “Your job is to stop people from dying. It’s simple. Even if someone doesn’t succeed, you move on. You have to act quickly.”

Vozniak is based in Sviatohirsk, a beautiful city in the eastern part of the Donetsk region. Tourists once visited his turquoise-domed 16th-century monastery, built at the foot of a steep chalk hill, and relaxed in his cafe on the willow-covered beach along the Siversky Donets River. did. In May 2022, Russian troops arrived. They occupied Sviatohirsk for four months. By the time they were forced out after a battle and left, their homes and sanatoriums had been destroyed.

“There was a beautiful pine forest where you could get mushrooms. Now it’s a place of death,” Vozniak recalled. The Russians mined cemeteries and forest nature trails.Fighting continues nearby Serebryansky Forest. After countless enemy attacks, swathes of trees were burnt down. There is a blackened trunk instead of green. Russian airstrikes and artillery fire have hit Ukrainian military positions, and trenches have crisscrossed the sandy plains.

Vozniak and his medical colleagues use a customized vehicle to rescue the injured. These included buggies and armored ambulances, which were more maneuverable in forest environments. charity work, Razom from Ukraine, donate. “The first two months were chaotic. Now the situation is calm,” said paramedic Ilya Savno, as Ukrainian military gunfire rang out in the distance. A patch on his uniform read, “The louder you scream, the faster we will get to you.” Another article read: “Ukraine or death.”

Team member Inna Mahomedova, a 29-year-old nurse, said she quit her job as a seamstress to help injured soldiers. She retrained. Was her job difficult? “Of course I have feelings. Sometimes they’re terrible. Your soul hurts. I want to be helpful,” she said. During the break, I watched a horror movie and relaxed. “It may sound strange, but they turn me off,” she said. “We know they are made up and nothing is true.”

In 2022, a monastery was shelled and two monks were killed. Civilians also left, including the then mayor of Sviatohirsk. Who took Moscow’s side. Among those who stayed was 84-year-old Babushka Lima. Earlier this week, she collected her bark in a bucket. “I sleep in the kitchen,” she said. “A rocket hit my cottage. It’s the only thing left. Explosions are loud at night.

“I buried my husband and son. There’s no point in leaving home because I’m going to die soon.”

At a press conference last month marking the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the death toll of Ukrainian soldiers at 31,000. He declined to say how many people were injured. On Saturday, he paid tribute to the “humanity and selflessness” of medical professionals who have been working since 2014, when Russia occupied parts of eastern Ukraine. They “always help save lives,” he tweeted.

Many treating wounded soldiers believe the death toll is probably higher than official estimates. “Death cannot be confirmed until the body is recovered,” said Svitlana Druzenko, head of the medical department. Pirogov’s first volunteer mobile hospital. He said Russian forces tried to kill emergency workers and frequently fired on rescue vehicles, adding that helicopters could not be used because the enemy targeted them and casualties were taken away by ambulance.

Druzenko and her team are based in Reiman, a frontline town not far from the repeatedly occupied Svyatohirsk. She said the war with Russia was “fundamentally different” from World War II, a conflict “without rules” fought using kamikaze drones and laser-guided bombs. The success of Russia’s recent military push is tied to next week’s presidential election, she said. “The Kremlin loves dates. He wants to seize territory by then.”

A green-painted ambulance and Humvee were parked in front of the residential property. How was morale, given recent Ukrainian setbacks, including the loss of the city of Avdiivka? “Everyone is tired. Our Western partners are tired. I would call myself a pessimist,” Druzenko said. “No, I’d rather be a realist.” In her view, the people are “more important” than getting back Crimea and the occupied territories. “I can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.”

Alex, a mobile hospital surgeon, said he often participated in medical evacuations despite the risk of bombing. “Maybe I’m crazy,” he joked. “But I have a mission to do this.” Other volunteers said they had no right to feel depressed. “We believe in victory and in the miracle of Ukraine,” said Masha Tsybulska, a 29-year-old nurse. “The injured players are not afraid. They are brave. Therefore, we must continue to move forward and hope for a breakthrough.”

The patient is brought to a point of stability and then transported to a military hospital. Oleksandr, a doctor with the call sign “Grandfather”, said 95% of cases involve shrapnel wounds. He said he spoke to the seriously injured soldiers and asked about their families. On his arm are the phrases “I cure diseases by cursing a lot” and “Never step back. There’s a morgue behind us.” Swearing reduces stress response and promotes recovery. It is said that it will be done.

At a hospital in the Donetsk region, a soldier named Andriy was being treated for a concussion. Andriy is a 50-year-old driver from the southern city of Kherson, which was liberated in 2022 and is now under daily Russian fire. He said Russian drones hovered over the trenches and dropped bombs. “Of course not outside. They have more drones than we do,” he said. When asked if all the soldiers with him survived, he sadly shook his head.

The doctor on duty, Vitaly Halnik, said Andriy would recover in about a week. “Patients with concussions initially suffer from a variety of symptoms. Their head spins and they vomit. We give them medicine. They need peace and quiet.” he said. Halnik conducted a series of routine tests. He asked Andriy to touch her nose and checked her breathing and pulse. Nearby, other wounded soldiers were browsing cell phones or dozing off in camp beds.

Oleksandr said soldiers usually return to their platoons as soon as they recover. “It’s brotherhood. They know why they’re fighting. It’s for their loved ones and their land.” He said this war is a fight between democracy and totalitarianism. he suggested. “We are a great country with big ambitions. Our problem is our neighbors on the right. We are different and have a different worldview. We have everything in common with them. Masu.”

Back in Sviatohirsk, Vozniak said he had taken two weeks off since the invasion. Comradeship and humor helped him and his colleagues cope with difficult situations. His call sign was Casper, a friendly translucent ghost from a vintage comic book series. He admitted that he had no idea when the war would end. “My wife is a doctor too. She understands,” he said. “My job may be difficult, but it’s easier than digging ditches.”