Since the outbreak of the Russian invasion on February 24 and the beginning of the bombing of Ukrainian cities, caregivers have had to adapt to injuries and interventions for which they were not necessarily prepared.
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In a decrepit room in the military hospital, two men are lying. One is a soldier, his legs bandaged stained with blood, the other is a firefighter, hit in the pelvis by a salvo of artillery while rescuing wounded soldiers. “First I want to heal and leave the hospital, he said. And afterwards, I want to continue to help the soldiers.” Sergei is doing relatively well compared to the 400 wounded who have passed through here in three weeks.
Amputated limbs, shreds of flesh… Doctors show in photos the bodily ravages of the bombs. “There are mainly injuries to the legs. And also to the stomach, to the thorax, details Alishar Favat, surgeon. Many arteries are affected, which complicates care. Before arriving here, I had never seen this. Most caregivers discover these injuries as serious.”
Since the launch of the Russian offensive, this young civilian doctor has spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the hospital. And he claims that “Some injuries are caused by weapons prohibited by international law. So we remove the bomb fragments from the bodies and photograph them, for evidence.”
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Once stabilized, the wounded quickly leave this war medicine center. We have to make room. On Friday morning, 17 bombing victims were admitted. Viktor Pysanko, the director of the hospital, wishes to launch an appeal: “No one is going to come and fight for us. But send us medicine, enough to save our soldiers!” What this military doctor would especially like is for NATO to close the Ukrainian skies, and no longer let Russian planes bomb its fellow citizens.
Report from a hospital in Zaporijia, Ukraine: Jérôme Jadot and Eric Audra
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