War in Ukraine: “Now the situation is a massacre” | War in Ukraine

An ambulance arrives in the hospital yard. Its blue flashing lights flash. Perhaps a soldier was wounded at the front and rushed to the Dnipro.

The city is like a gateway to the Donbass, a relatively safe rear base to which a large number of wounded soldiers from hot zones such as Bagmouth or Wulhedar are sent.

Inaccessibility of ambulance. The Ukrainian army refuses to show the status of soldiers evacuated from the front. Similar ambulances, we see several a day in Dnipro.

However, we are called to one of the five hospitals in the city, which often attend to the wounded. 10 to 30 per day depending on the staff. A constant flow. for months.

The elevator doors open to a quiet floor. We are led down a long corridor. Some doors are open: soldiers are resting on small beds.

All employees are tired, says surgeon Vadim Sergeevich. He works 10 to 12 hours a day. Hours may be extended with emergencies. I don’t stay home long.

Vadim Sergeevich works tirelessly to help wounded soldiers who come to his hospital.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Yannick Dumont Baron

He mostly sees injuries from shrapnel. Sometimes there are serious injuries to the stomach, chest or even the neck. But it is mostly in hands and feet.

Vadim Sergeevich takes a closer look at the ravages of artillery on the human body. Bullets and shrapnel pierce skin and shatter bones. And this does not account for the damage caused by the detonation of an anti-objection mine.

With war, a surgeon accustomed to the medical problems of a peaceful society had to adjust. It was hard at first. It was very sad. Sometimes guys get really confused. It’s hard to see them.

The 38-year-old doctor would not say how many patients did not survive their injuries.

” War or not, we make medicine. No one can command a wounded man to live. [En perdre un]It was a very difficult experience. »

Survive and return to the front

Oleksii luckily survived the attack on the vehicle he was riding in.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Yannick Dumont Baron

Our military hosts allow us to chat with two slightly wounded soldiers. Incidentally one of them speaks French. Effect of being in the Foreign Legion. Oleksy had left a year earlier when he heard the news of the Russian invasion. I was forcedHe puts a hand over his heart and explains. I am Ukrainian. Passport and heart.

Well muscled, the soldier smiled a little. He sits on a couch and looks back at the end of Valentine’s Day. when his vehicle was hit by an anti-tank grenade near Donetsk.

During the explosion, you only see the lights. You feel the temperature around you. I thought I was dead. It took him a few seconds to realize his mistake.

I got out of the vehicle. I could not see. I thought I had lost my sight. But a minute later, I saw stars. Oleksy quickly called for help. A little injured, he managed to help his comrades.

Oleksy has not told his relatives anything yet. Don’t disturb my familyHe says with a smile. I’m still alive, right?

Lives like Yevheni, who was hit by multiple shrapnel during a Russian attack near Bachmouth. He considers himself lucky. And knows that he is marked by the intensity of the fight.

Yevheny was wounded near Bagmouth, where the fighting was particularly fierce.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Yannick Dumont Baron

In the last days, We all said “goodbye”. We said goodbye to life. There were so many explosions. Our hands were shaking. His weapon was difficult to handle.

A week later, he says it’s hard to find words to describe what he experienced. The ferocity of artillery fire. Their deafening sound. In comparison, the fights of 2015 [lors de l’invasion russe initiale]It was a piece of cake.

Despite the dangers and pain, both men want to return to the front as soon as possible. If every injury went home, who would be ahead? Oleksy asks. Already, we are not much compared to Russia. We cannot retreat.

A rough estimate of the dead

Graves are multiplying in a cemetery near Dnipro.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Yannick Dumont Baron

Western analysts estimate that at least 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, wounded or captured in the past year. Among Russians, this number is at least twice as high.

In December, the Ukrainian president killed 13,000 people. A prediction. And that was before the recent escalation of fighting. Both players no longer count the number of comrades-in-arms they have lost. Of course, they have only a partial view of the actual number of victims.

Now the situation is a carnageOleksiy communicates with guys from other places before. It is the same everywhere. And it goes both ways. This is not to say that these are only Russian losses.

The killing of one of them has come as a shockYevheniy agrees. Especially if we list at the same time. You come back alive, but he doesn’t? It is impossible to look mother in the eye…impossible.

This trauma is evident at the Krasnopilske cemetery on the outskirts of Dnipro. Many soldiers are buried here. from here, but their remains could not be identified or returned to their relatives.

During our visit, the wind is strong. Dozens of yellow and blue flags fly furiously in the wind. The sound of a mechanical shovel is added to this sad soundtrack.

Every day, the worker digs a few more holes. About twenty are empty on our visit. On the crosses, the age of the dead. 19 years old. 23 years. 27. A young man was cut down by war.

A girl runs through thick mud. Young men support her with their hands. It is a mother walking towards a son’s grave. His face is marked with pain. Amma has only a few meters to cross. Every step seems so hard and painful. Like this reality that captures her in front of a modest cross surrounded by flowers.