Brutal fighting is raging in the streets of the Ukrainian Bakhmut, Russian invaders are trying to completely conquer this city in the Donetsk region. Not far from the clashes, Ukrainian medics are trying to save the lives of soldiers defending Bakhmut. They say they treat up to a hundred patients a day, including civilians injured in shelling by soldiers from various units.
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“It’s very hot there. Wounded Ukrainians describe the fighting in Bakhmut. | Video: Radio Free Europe
“They bring wounded soldiers here to stabilize them. We stop the bleeding, disinfect the wounds, perform CPR if necessary, and then evacuate the injured to a mobile military hospital. There is more fighting in the streets now, so there are more gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, they are also at work snipers,” says Anatolij, head of local health workers.
Ukrainian soldier Ivan, who was hit by shrapnel from a tank shell, fought with his injury for three more days. Another soldier, Michajlo, suffered injuries to his hand and eye. “Our group was going out, they were being shot at. We were covering them, so they were also shooting at us. It is very hot there (in the industrial zone in Bachmut). They are coming after us from all sides, from where they can. It is the most dangerous at night, ” the wounded soldier described his experiences on camera.
They also treat civilians at the base. Nurse Maria remembers a two-year-old girl who did not speak at all. “Her parents brought her here the day before when she was with the neighbors. There was shelling and she was brought here the next day. She couldn’t move her legs, so a neighbor brought her here,” said Maria.
Some treated soldiers leave the badges of their unit here, and the rescuers then make a “wall of fame” out of them. Meanwhile, Russian invaders are making their way into the center of this war-torn city.
On Monday, Ukrainian military officials denied the Russian side’s claims of formal capture of Bakhmut. “The enemy is trying to fully control the city of Bakhmut and continues to attack it. He unsuccessfully carried out offensive actions near the villages of Orichovo-Vasylivka and Ivanivske. In the last day, the Ukrainian defense forces repelled 32 enemy attacks on this section of the front,” the Ukrainian General Staff claims.
The fighting for the city is some of the bloodiest in the current conflict, which was launched by Russia last February, with heavy casualties reported on both sides and the city itself largely destroyed, according to Reuters.
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