Wounded Need Fatherly Care: Stories of Those Bringing Russian Soldiers Back to Life

Medics run on two-to-three hours of sleep and never complain that not a day goes by without them having to take in someone else’s pain. Sputnik has drawn up this report covering the everyday life of the Medical Battalion of the 150th Motor Rifle Division.

We set out before dawn because you have got to be totally insane to walk on Artemovsk (Bakhmut) roads in broad daylight. The enemy holds partial fire control over all of it. There are enemy “birdies” (drones - ed.note) in the air, replacing one another and adjusting the artillery. They fly in literal flocks. If one drone miscalculates, the others specify locations and the shells hit the target. This is the “drone swarm” tactic in action.

The other day, Ukrainians managed to strike an ambulance truck. The driver died. But today the weather is kind – dense clouds and heavy rains cover the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) sky.

The Medical Battalion’s truck beneath the camouflage net is carrying potable water. It is not the medicines or equipment there is a shortage of - it is clean water that is as good as gold here. What there is, is mainly for the wounded. The human body produces extra sweat under stress, leading many to dehydration, so you have to drink more water. Unless, of course, you were hit in the stomach.

A few hours later we finally arrive at the destination. The military urgently ask us not to specify the exact location. Let’s just say that the Separate Medical Battalion of the 150th Motor Rifle Division is masterfully hidden from unfriendly eyes. It is invisible to a satellite and it cannot be hit by a drone.

There are three separate units on site. In the reception and sorting unit, the medics examine and pre-diagnose the wounded. The ICU is where those with critical wounds are brought back to life. And the surgery unit has seven surgeons who rescue crippled and burned fighters 24/7.

At this very moment, they are operating on a guy with his feet hit by a cluster shell under local anesthesia. The wounds are horrible – his left heel was torn apart from the foot, and his right one was half-shattered. He will certainly live. But things are not as rosy when it comes to walking…

“The wounded often ask for an amputation themselves," reveals the military medic with call sign Otkat (lit. Kickback). "To be able to walk properly, you need three points of support: the heel, the first and the fifth toes. If one is missing, the patient will end up with a severe limp. So they go for an alternative option - prosthesis..."

The surgeons are getting finished with the operation. The wounded thanks the doctors in a weak voice. A moment later there is a “new arrival” coming from the Kleshcheyevka – Andreyevka – Kurdyumovka frontlines. Each of these soldiers has shell fragment wounds – either to the head, the shoulder, or penetrating the chest. This is the result of NATO’s 155mm cluster shells with their fragments flying straight down.

“This munition is highly dangerous," admits the military surgeon with call sign Kostyl (lit. Crutch). "The other day a patient came in with fractures, penetrating wounds, and concussion. We thought he was a goner. But we brought him back. Do we operate on a schedule? No, we dive into work as soon as new patients arrive."

"[We] get two-to-three hours of sleep a day. Is this something I expected? Sure. I am a trained orthopedic traumatologist. Here [in the special military operation zone] I turned into a surgeon. When I first started, a single glance at a serious injury got my hands trembling. But as time went on the fear was gone. And so was the tremor,” Kostyl continues.

Girls serve in the Medical Battalion too. Young and gentle Patimat from Buynaksk (Republic of Dagestan, Russia) has profound and expressive brown eyes - many bet that all the patients fall in love with her. And they say that her face of war is an unwomanly one.

"I believe the war has no face at all," Strela (lit. Arrow) countered. We came up with the call sign for Patimat together thanks to her beautiful eye makeup. Meanwhile, she continues: "This is Moloch [literary demon] devouring souls. What brought me here was a sense of duty."

"Prior to the special military operation, I spent 14 years working in a tuberculosis clinic. It was a great experience. But military life is totally different compared to the civilian world I was used to. Young men arrive here severely injured, and it is not just the treatment they require. It is of utter importance to also support and console them so they do not shut off from the rest of the world."

Wounded soldiers open up to journalists fairly easily. You can clearly see that they are willing to vent to anyone who is ready to listen. Yaryi (lit. The Fierce One), a 'Storm' squad fighter, is an ex-con. He was imprisoned because of a drunken road accident where he ended up accidentally inflicting grievous bodily harm to a person.

He atoned for his sins with blood by getting a fragmentation munition under his knee. Now, he is waiting to be evacuated. He shared that he has always loved animals, and even got his veterinarian degree. If he gets commissioned home, he’ll go back to what he is passionate about. Hope is the most powerful cure for these guys.

“My name is Seryoga, call sign Kazansky," says a deputy political officer of a Russian military unit as he introduced himself. "I was wounded somewhere around here. A Ukrainian copter threw a grenade, and its shard hit me right in the leg. At first everything went black as I passed out. Then I woke up, put a harness on my leg and started crawling. Halfway through, the guys picked me up and dragged me to the car. My first wound that I got fighting in Kherson was not nearly as bad as this one, I was merely shot, and the bullet went tangentially. But the doctors say I’ll be able to jump around like a little kid in no time. I am not done fighting yet!”

Faith also saves. It is widely known that there are no atheists in the trenches under fire. Hieromonk Nikolai, an Orthodox assistant to the division commander, is a fatherly figure to the wounded in the Medical Battalion of the 150th Motor Rifle Division. He strokes their shaved heads, gently comforts and cheers them up. He genuinely sees them as his children.

“Who else is there to help if not the priest?" questions the robed man with a full white beard. "A wounded person is just like an orphaned child, scared and panicking. You have got to comfort and console him."

"There are times during the war when God’s word is more important than a surgeon’s knife. Many young men find God in this very hospital. My job is to help. No matter whether the person is religious or an atheist. We are all human”.

Two ambulance trucks bring another group of wounded soldiers to the field hospital. After quickly chugging down a cup of coffee, surgeons put on fresh medical masks and gloves. They are unlikely to have a restful night of sleep today. The guardian angels of our soldiers cannot afford such a luxury.