The brief mutiny by the Wagner paramilitary group in Russia and its aftermath has overshadowed the war in Ukraine over the past few days. Meanwhile, the fighting continued: Russian troops killed or wounded thousands of Ukrainian soldiers each week, adding to the damage of the invasion.
My colleagues Yousur Al-Hlou, Masha Froliak and Ben Laffin published a highlight video today from the front lines, following Ukrainian combat doctors. Before the war, they were civilian doctors and nurses. Now, they heal wounded countrymen while trying to defend themselves from artillery and missile attacks. I call on you watch videochanged my view of the sacrifices Ukrainians were forced to make.
I spoke with Yousur and Masha about their experience following these doctors for a week.
German: What is the mood of the Ukrainian doctors after more than a year of fighting?
Masha: They compared the heavy workload to the movie “Groundhog Day”, reliving the same day and losing the sense of day or night. They lived in that hospital, as well as worked there. They are tired. They have no sense of when this will end.
What they say in the video has existential meaning to it. They seem motivated to keep going because they feel their country needs them.
Yousur: They don’t just defend their country. They are protecting the lives of their families and their own lives. It was a very personal struggle. It’s a very personal motivation – a very personal risk.
One of the doctors asked: “How can I not take on this? How can I not be at this frontline hospital? How can I not risk my life if it is to protect my family and protect my country?” They admit they are tired. They admit that they have doubts about when this conflict might end. But they also have this relentless drive.
Masha: A doctor said that these young soldiers are the same age as her children. She talks about imagining it’s her children in the operating room – and she just wants to hug and protect them all.
This seems to be an important point: No matter how tired these doctors are, they don’t give up the fight.
Yousur: That’s right. These doctors have not been afraid to speak out about the damage the war is doing to them. But that doesn’t negate their motivation and hatred for their enemies — feelings they also openly express. These feelings exist side by side.
What was their life like before the invasion?
Yousur: They are anesthesiologists, surgeons, nurses, etc. in civilian hospitals. They wear white coats. When the invasion began last year, their lives changed dramatically.
It’s an almost universal aspect of the war. When it started, a lot of civilians suddenly found themselves serving their country. People volunteered to sew camouflage nets for the soldiers. Grandma makes Molotov cocktails. Likewise, these doctors began working practically around the clock at a front-line military hospital taking care of the wounded amid rocket fire.
Watch videoincludes a scene in which combat doctors face the task of treating a Russian prisoner of war — and not all of them feel comfortable helping someone they see as an enemy.
More about war
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Vladimir Putin is plan punishment who triggered the Yevgeny Prigozhin uprising, but leader Wagner’s deep ties to the Moscow elite are making that difficult.
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Sergei Surovikin, the general said to have known about the uprising in advance, has not appeared publicly since early Saturday.
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An unlikely obstacle slowed Ukraine’s counterattack: the flat, open fields. These illustrations and maps shows why the terrain makes advancing so difficult.
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Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko may have brokered the deal between Putin and leader Wagner, but he still cuts pathetic figure like a Russian pawnThomas Graham writes for Times Opinion.
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