Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said until recently that he was not sure the battles for Severodonetsk and Lysichansk were worth the roughly 100 soldiers killed a day. However, the protection of the ruined Bakhmut has now become a symbol of Ukraine’s struggle for freedom.
Meanwhile, front-line medics are trying to save the wounded defenders of the country – there are a lot of them due to heavy battles.
The reality of war: every day more and more wounded, more and more victims. A few kilometers from the front line near Bakhmut, Ukrainian medics fight every day to save seriously wounded soldiers. Here they are stabilized for subsequent evacuation to the hospital.
Providing medical assistance to wounded Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region Photo: REUTERS, Clodagh Kilcoyne
The doctors of the Stabilization Center work around the clock and are the first to take care of the wounded Ukrainian defenders. A frontline soldier can be here on the operating table in less than half an hour.
So far, more than 1,000 troops have stayed at the Stabilization Center. Most survive, says the center’s coordinator. But not all.
“It’s very sad. Because despite the losses of the enemy, the heroism of our fighters, we also have losses. Of course, it hurts when someone cannot be saved,” says surgeon, coordinator of the Stabilization Center Konstantin Vasilkevičs.
The doctors take the wounded to the operating theaters they have set up themselves. Some with minor injuries and bruises, others with severe blood loss and head injuries. The main task is to stabilize. For about half an hour, medics tried to save one of the seriously wounded soldiers. Failed today.
“We did everything up to the last moment to save this life. And not only to save these lives, but also to send treatment so that the soldier has a chance to survive and recover. This is the most important thing,” he says Vasilkevich.
But there is no time to dwell on a death. Especially here, near the front, because the next soldier is coming quickly. He was injured when shrapnel pierced his helmet. Doctors quickly stabilize him and further send him to a military hospital.
As the battle for Bahmut goes on, soldiers in this state come here all the time. After healing, many go back to where they came from, to the front lines.
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