In a patient room, Oksana nervously waits for her husband. On the floor below, the father of two, Ruslan, lies on the operating table. Her face tells of fear and despair. – I want this war to end. I want my husband back alive, says Oksana. TEARS: Oksana starts to cry when she talks about the man serving at the front. Photo: kari skeie / news For several weeks, the husband has been fighting at the front with a broken leg. It is not long before he is wheeled into the room. Oksana’s tears come quickly. – He fights at the front. He has been there three times. Oksana has not seen her husband for nine months. Now she has traveled for two days to be with him in the hospital. Lately he has been fighting near the city of Bakhmut, one of the places where the hardest battles take place. The summer has been particularly bloody The Ukrainian offensive is in its fourth month. How many soldiers are injured or killed, the Ukrainians do not want to say. But in recent months, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of fallen soldiers on the Ukrainian side, according to American sources, with whom The New York Times has spoken. WAITING: Oksana is waiting for her husband to come back from surgery. Photo: kari skeie / news The last few months have been particularly bloody, says surgeon Vadim Gerasimov. – It has been a very intense summer. Every day we have received between 30-40 men. Many have gunshot wounds and are hit by shrapnel. Several have extensive injuries. BLOODY: Surgeon Vadim Gerasimov has operated on soldiers throughout the summer. Photo: nadir alam / news His working day starts between six and seven in the morning. He never knows when he can go home. On certain days, he carries out four extensive operations. – At the beginning it was difficult, but now I’ve got used to it. SEVERE DAMAGE: The hospitals in Dnipro are filled with injured soldiers. Here, a severely injured soldier receives treatment at the Meshnikov hospital, when the AP news agency visited in July. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP The hospital he works at is one of around 20 in Dnipro. The city is among Ukraine’s largest and is located only 12 miles from the front. Wounded soldiers from all over the front are transported here. Lost his foot, but wants to return to the front Four days ago, 26-year-old Vasja walked on a mine outside Bakhmut. He is now in a hospital bed. The right foot is gone forever. Vasja says that the accident happened in the evening when it was getting dark. Just before, the attacks with both artillery and tanks had picked up. – I went on a mine. I didn’t see it. We call this type of mine “black widow”. I fell. At my head was another mine, which I managed to disarm. A third mine lay close to my other leg. AMPUTATED: Vasja (26) has to live with an amputated foot after he stepped on a mine outside the town of Bakhmut. Photo: kari skeie / news The former confectioner has a wife and a five-year-old son. He is determined that he will continue to fight. – I am in good spirits. I’m going to get a prosthesis and with new courage I’m going back to the front, says Vasja. WANT TO BACK: Anton (34) hopes he will soon be on his feet and can go back to the front. Photo: Kari Skeie / news Anton (34) sits in the bed next to him. He broke his leg when he helped a badly injured fellow soldier to safety. At the end of July, 15 of his fellow soldiers were killed. – It has been very intense. We couldn’t sleep for two days because of the shooting. He, too, wants to return to the front. – Negotiating with Russia is unthinkable, says Anton. – The only way to end the war is for us to win on the battlefield. The enemy will never surrender, he says. Cursing Putin For Oksana, the wait is over. Two nurses wheel her husband Ruslan into the patient room. The operation is successful. AFRAID: Oksana finally gets to be with her husband Ruslan, but dreads him going to the front again. Photo: kari skeie / news The time they spend together is precious. Ruslan is crystal clear that he wants to return to the front. – Ukraine is important to me. The answer from the wife comes quickly: – I don’t want him to leave. She and the children, aged 14 and 18, must once again prepare to manage without Ruslan. For Oksana, it still means fear, but also anger: – I want the cursed Putin to get out.
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The hospitals in Dnipro are filled with injured Ukrainian soldiers – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
