At the medical stabilization point for wounded soldiers near Bakhmut, Ukrainian military doctors deal with a new influx of wounded by flashlight, AFP reports.

Although Russia claimed control of this eastern Ukrainian city in May, the epicenter of last summer’s fighting, the fighting has not stopped. The Ukrainians claim that they gained an advantage over the Russians by attacking them on the northern and southern flanks.

A sign of the brutality of the fighting is that medics are trying to stabilize the health of many wounded in the head, chest and bleeding so they can survive and be transferred to rear hospitals.

Rescue begins in the trenches

During a short break during a night shift this week, medical personnel explained to AFP the mission of their unit, which is part of Ukraine’s 24th Mechanized Brigade.

“The work begins in the trenches, when comrades share tourniquets and military doctors intervene,” explains Bohdan, a surgeon with a tired face who, like all soldiers at the front, does not give his last name.

Soldiers then load the wounded into light vehicles that run, often under enemy fire, to transport their comrades to a stabilization point where medical triage will take place.

“We try to be as close as possible to the front line in order to shorten the evacuation time,” Bohdan explains.

Military doctors help a wounded soldier get out of a military vehicle in the Bakhmut area (Photo: Iryna Rybakova / AP / Profimedia)

“Blood and suffering”

“I don’t want to be trite, but there is no war without victims,” ​​he says. “And injuries lead to disabilities and disabilities. And these are young soldiers.”

In the windowed rooms where they work to save lives, doctors work with flashlights to avoid being spotted by scouts or Russian drones.

Bloody bandages and cotton wool pile up on the floor under gurneys and operating tables. An amputated leg lies next to a garbage can full of abandoned shoes.

Nearby, a doctor tries to insert a catheter into a patient who has lost an arm and a leg.

You don’t have to let your emotions overwhelm you

“Over time, you will learn not to think (about the horror of war wounds). If you allow yourself to be overwhelmed by emotions, you cannot be effective, so we work more mechanically,” explains doctor Yuriy.

One of her colleagues, Natalia, says that she saw doctors and nurses who died after a month in a military hospital. She says she discovered “fear”.

“I think everyone here wants it to be over as soon as possible, people are tired,” she says, “but we understand very well that it won’t be easy and it won’t be soon.”

A counterattack will mean bloodshed and suffering

For Iuris, it is critical that Ukraine’s civilian population and Western allies understand the scale of the soldier sacrifice as Ukraine prepares to launch an offensive to retake territories occupied by Russia.

“Everyone is waiting for a counteroffensive, waiting for an opportunity to return to life earlier. But this means great losses, bloodshed and suffering,” he says.

• Reference: Ukraine: The Story of Wounded Fighters Trying to Return to Combat

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