For Ukraine doctors, treating injured Russians a necessary evil

By: 3 years ago

Doctor treating a patient | 黑料社 stock image

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine 鈥� For more than two months, Dr Farad Ali-Shakh has spent his waking hours tending wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. He also treats injured Russians, albeit reluctantly, who could be part of future prisoner exchanges.

This young doctor says he 鈥減ractically lives鈥� at the military hospital in Zaporizhzhia, a large city in southern Ukraine which lies just a few dozen kilometres from the front.

At night, the distant thud of shelling can sometimes be heard here.

Since Russia largely withdrew from northern Ukraine to refocus on the eastern Donbas region and the south, this industrial city has become a rallying point for those fleeing the violence or wounded in war.

Ali-Shakh says he works 20 hours every day, which can mean operating on up to 20 patients, one after the other.

Since the Russian invasion on February 24, thick tarpaulins have been hung up in front of the hospital鈥檚 windows to make it less visible from the skies at night when it could become a target for Russian forces.

But the tarpaulins are also there to protect people from flying glass in the event of a bombing after the first houses in Zaporizhzhia were hit in a Russian strike last week.

It means the hospital is largely in darkness most of the time, even during the day. Conversations take place by the light of a desk lamp and patients鈥� X-rays give off a ghostly hue.

And the scant light makes the photos on the doctor鈥檚 mobile look even more grisly.

鈥楢苍颈尘补濒蝉鈥�

One photo shows an almost totally severed leg, which is only attached by a piece of skin.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 something we see a lot here,鈥� Ali-Shakh says. 鈥淲e were able to reconnect the blood vessels then reattach the skin.鈥�

Another shows a patient whose arm was almost cut in two, which was also saved, he explains soberly.

Asked about the emotional impact of constantly dealing with such horrific wounds, he shrugs.

鈥淲e have learnt to deal with such injuries. We are doing a difficult job but we鈥檙e helping our country,鈥� he says before volunteering another surprising piece of information.

鈥淲e even treat Russian soldiers. But maybe we shouldn鈥檛. Maybe we should just leave them so they can fertilise our land.鈥�

When it comes to treating enemy soldiers, the young doctor admits to feeling a certain 鈥渓ack of motivation鈥�.

鈥淏ut if you help them recover, you can exchange them for Ukrainian soldiers鈥� held captive by the Russians, he says.

Throughout the hospital, boxes of clothing and medical supplies give a sense of the ongoing emergency at the hospital.

But they are also an indication of the limited resources the surgeons must use to treat these 鈥渁nimals鈥�, sighs Major Viktor Pyssanko, who runs the hospital.

The Russian soldiers 鈥渁re thoughtless youngsters鈥� who are fed to the back teeth on 鈥減ropaganda鈥�, he says.

They say they want to free Ukraine but 鈥渢hey want to kill as many Ukrainians as possible鈥�.

Even so, the hospital is trying to save as many as possible with the sole aim of 鈥渟wapping them for our own soldiers鈥�, Pyssanko explains.

Black humor

Several prisoner exchanges have taken place since the Russian invasion began, the most high profile of which involved the mayor of the southern city of Melitopol, who was captured on March 11 then freed a few days later.

Russia鈥檚 rights ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova said he was swapped for nine Russians.

The latest prisoner exchange was on Friday, when 41 Ukrainians 鈥� 28 soldiers and 13 civilians 鈥� were freed, among them 11 women and a cleric. Kyiv never says how many Russians were handed back to Moscow.

Three wounded Russian soldiers were brought to Zaporizhzhia鈥檚 main civilian hospital in early April with gunshot wounds and shelling injuries.

They stayed for three weeks, under constant guard, and were then handed to the Ukrainian security forces at the end of April, recalls Vasily, a doctor at the hospital who did not want to give his surname.

Vasily doesn鈥檛 know what happened to them afterwards.

鈥淭hey looked very depressed, devastated, not aggressive. Scared,鈥� he said.

鈥淏ecause of that, we鈥� never felt the need to express contempt鈥� for them.

Between the doctors, where black humour is very common, 鈥渨e joked about harming them. But it all ended when it came to performing and keeping our Hippocratic Oath,鈥� Vasily said.

鈥淵es, those are our enemies鈥� (but) I never felt a desire to strangle鈥� them in their beds, he said.

鈥淚f I did have those kinds of thoughts I wouldn鈥檛 be working as a doctor.鈥�