02-What Ukraine’s bloody battlefield is teaching medics

<img src="/media/202408//1724856282.473529.png" />What Ukraine’s bloodybattlefield is teaching medics<img src="/media/202408//1724856285.201101.png" />Western armies have not dealt with mass casualties since the 1950s<img src="/media/202408//1724856285.205652.png" />image: EyevineAug 4th 2023AMERICAN AND British intelligence agencies watched as Russia massedits troops on the border with Ukraine in the early weeks of 2022. They knew that Vladimir Putin had planned an invasion—they had stolen his plans. But would Mr Putin go through with it? One indicator that he would, says Major-General Tim Hodgetts, the surgeon-general of Britain’s armed forces, was that field hospitals were moving to Russia’s border with Ukraine.That was telling, but not damning. Russia had deployed hospitals for exercises in the past. More worrying were the ongoing blood drives among the country’s university students. Red blood cells last only six weeks if not frozen; donors can be bled only every three months. Even more troubling was what was happening inside the field hospitals.Russian surgeons were practising operations on large, anaesthetised animals. “Medical indicators and warnings are predictive of war,”concludes General Hodgetts. It is a vital lesson from Ukraine for future conflicts.Already have an account? <a href="https://www.economist.com/api/auth/login?redirect=%252Finternational%252F2023%252F08%252F04%252Fwhat-ukraines-bloody-battlefield-is-teaching-medics">Log in</a>Get the full storyEnjoy a month of insightful analysis for free.Cancel at anytime<a href="https://www.economist.com/api/auth/subscribe?path=%2FDE%2FECOM-Article%2FHoliday20%2FRegwall&amp;redirect=%2Finternational%2F2023%2F08%2F04%2Fwhat-ukraines-bloody-battlefield-is-teaching-medics">Start trial</a>Distinctive global analysis with more than 100 articles a week on The Economist app and economist.comAn immersive world with podcasts and digital newslettersIntelligent debate with a global community in subscriber-only digital eventsOr continue reading this article<a href="https://www.economist.com/api/auth/register?redirect=%252Fget-started%252Fregistered%253FarticleId%253Dg794vi0alrl8i0nlpajpc32065ej0qfm">Register now</a>