在他们自己的前线——自反攻开始以来，乌克兰外科医生治疗了一波又一波的士兵——科罗拉多哨兵

![](/media/202412//1733464860.0403597.png)在他们自己的前线，

乌克兰外科医生治疗海浪 从那以后

反进攻开始

![](/media/202412//1733464860.0495152.png)“疼痛 ！一名大腿严重受伤的军人尖叫道

工人们把他转移到一个做外科手术的轮床上。

![](/media/202412//1733464860.0571718.jpeg)

乌克兰军人凯曼在医院的重症监护室展示了一个胜利的标志

2023年7月15日 星期六 乌克兰德尼普罗的梅奇尼科夫医院 浪涌 受伤士兵的人数恰逢大规模反攻

, , 。

乌克兰上个月开始试图从俄罗斯手中夺回其土地 力梅奇尼科夫医院的外科医生，

现在比俄罗斯开始工作以来的任何时候都要忙吗 入侵17个月前。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.0659099.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.0765936.png)神经外科医生尼基塔 ·隆布罗佐为一名住院病人做了手术

在梅切尼科夫医院 ，左侧大脑的弹片受伤

2023年7月14日，星期五，在乌克兰的德尼普罗。一大批伤员 士兵们恰逢乌克兰的大规模反攻

上个月发射了导弹 ，试图从俄罗斯军队手中夺回土地。

梅切尼科夫医院之一的外科医生是

现在可能比俄罗斯开始工作以来的任何时候都要忙

入侵17个月前。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.0853033.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.0924354.png)医务人员将一名受重伤的乌克兰军人转移到阿富汗

位于乌克兰德尼普罗的梅切尼科夫医院的重症监护室，周五，

202 3 年 7 月 14 日 。受伤士兵的激增与此同时

乌克兰上个月发起了大规模反攻 ，试图实现目标

从俄罗斯军队手中夺回其土地。梅奇尼科夫的外科医生

医院是美国最大的医院之一 ，现在比可能更忙

自17个月前俄罗斯开始入侵以来的任何时候。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.1022208.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.1108656.png)医务人员在医院治疗一名受重伤的乌克兰军人

位于乌克兰德尼普罗的梅切尼科夫医院的重症监护室，周五，

202 3 年 7 月 14 日 。受伤士兵的激增与此同时

乌克兰上个月发起了大规模反攻 ，试图实现目标

从俄罗斯军队手中夺回其土地。梅奇尼科夫的外科医生

医院是美国最大的医院之一 ，现在比可能更忙

自17个月前俄罗斯开始入侵以来的任何时候。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.120473.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.1285312.png)一名乌克兰士兵的女友在走廊里祈祷 ，而医生们则说

周五 ，在乌克兰德尼普罗的梅切尼科夫医院讨论手术问题，

202 3 年 7 月 14 日 。受伤士兵的激增与此同时

乌克兰上个月发起了大规模反攻 ，试图实现目标

从俄罗斯军队手中夺回其土地。梅奇尼科夫的外科医生 医院是美国最大的医院之一 ，现在比可能更忙

自17个月前俄罗斯开始入侵以来的任何时候。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.137201.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.1448095.png)一名严重受伤的乌克兰军人躺在担架上

位于乌克兰德尼普罗的梅切尼科夫医院的重症监护室，周五，

202 3 年 7 月 14 日 。受伤士兵的激增与此同时

乌克兰上个月发起了大规模反攻 ，试图实现目标

从俄罗斯军队手中夺回其土地。梅奇尼科夫的外科医生

医院是美国最大的医院之一 ，现在比可能更忙

自17个月前俄罗斯开始入侵以来的任何时候。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.1539507.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.161578.png)一名受伤的乌克兰军人在阿富汗监狱外面抽烟

7月，星期五，救护车在乌克兰德尼普罗的梅奇尼科夫医院举行

14, 202 3 . 受伤士兵的激增与少校相一致 乌克兰上个月发起了反攻，试图夺回其领土

俄罗斯军队的土地 。梅切尼科夫医院的外科医生之一

在美国最大的国家中，现在可能比其他任何国家都要忙

自从17个月前俄罗斯开始入侵俄罗斯以来。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.1713152.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.1793811.png)首席医生塞尔希伊 ·里仁科对22岁的乌克兰人奥莱赫 ·哈拉发表了讲话 士兵在梅切尼科夫莱曼附近被一辆俄罗斯坦克受伤

2023年7月14日，星期五，乌克兰德尼普罗的医院 。大量的 受伤的士兵恰逢这次大规模的反攻

乌克兰上个月开始采取行动 ，试图夺回其土地从

俄罗斯军队。梅切尼科夫医院的外科医生 ，其中之一 国家最大的国家，现在比其他任何时候都要忙

自从俄罗斯在17个月前开始入侵以来。(AP Photo/Evgeniy 马洛莱特卡）

![](/media/202412//1733464860.1879933.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.195593.png)一名医务人员帮助一名被炮弹休克的乌克兰军人进入医院

2023年7月14日，星期五，位于乌克兰德尼普罗的梅奇尼科夫医院。浪涌 受伤士兵的人数恰逢大规模反攻

乌克兰上个月开始采取行动 ，试图夺回其土地从

俄罗斯军队。梅切尼科夫医院的外科医生 ，其中之一 国家最大的国家，现在比其他任何时候都要忙

自从俄罗斯在17个月前开始入侵以来。(AP Photo/Evgeniy 马洛莱特卡）

![](/media/202412//1733464860.2037418.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.213355.png)乌克兰军人凯曼在医院的重症监护室展示了一个胜利的标志

2023年7月15日，星期六，乌克兰德尼普罗的梅奇尼科夫医院。A 受伤士兵的激增与少校相一致

乌克兰上个月发起了反攻，试图夺回其领土

俄罗斯军队的土地 。梅切尼科夫医院的外科医生，其中之一

这个国家最大的国家，现在可能比其他任何时候都要忙

自从俄罗斯在17个月前开始入侵以来。(AP Photo/Evgeniy 马洛莱特卡）

![](/media/202412//1733464860.2220457.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.230175.png)医护人员在梅切尼科夫医院的重症监护室治疗乌克兰士兵

德尼普罗 ，乌克兰 ，2023年7月15 日，星期六。一大批伤员 士兵们恰逢乌克兰的大规模反攻

上个月发射了导弹 ，试图从俄罗斯军队手中夺回土地。

梅切尼科夫医院之一的外科医生是

现在可能比俄罗斯开始工作以来的任何时候都要忙

入侵17个月前。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.2378378.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.2465036.png)医护人员运送了严重受伤的乌克兰军人

7月，星期五，将担架送往乌克兰德尼普罗的梅切尼科夫医院

14, 202 3 . 受伤士兵的激增与少校相一致 乌克兰上个月发起了反攻，试图夺回其领土

俄罗斯军队的土地 。梅切尼科夫医院的外科医生，其中之一

这个国家最大的国家，现在可能比其他任何时候都要忙

自从俄罗斯在17个月前开始入侵以来。(AP Photo/Evgeniy 马洛莱特卡）

![](/media/202412//1733464860.2551663.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.2642977.png)一名护士准备在医院的重症监护室治疗乌克兰军人

2023年7月15日，星期六，乌克兰德尼普罗的梅奇尼科夫医院。A 受伤士兵的激增与少校相一致

乌克兰上个月发起了反攻，试图夺回其领土

俄罗斯军队的土地 。梅切尼科夫医院的外科医生，其中之一

这个国家最大的国家，现在可能比其他任何时候都要忙

自从俄罗斯在17个月前开始入侵以来。(AP Photo/Evgeniy 马洛莱特卡）

![](/media/202412//1733464860.2718701.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.2809432.png)神经外科医生尼基塔 ·隆布罗佐为一名住院病人做了手术

在梅切尼科夫医院 ，左侧大脑的弹片受伤

2023年7月14日，星期五，在乌克兰的德尼普罗。一大批伤员 士兵们恰逢乌克兰的大规模反攻

上个月发射了导弹 ，试图从俄罗斯军队手中夺回土地。

梅切尼科夫医院之一的外科医生是

现在可能比俄罗斯开始工作以来的任何时候都要忙

入侵17个月前。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.294586.jpeg)

![](/media/202412//1733464860.3011608.png)医务人员将一名受重伤的乌克兰军人转移到阿富汗

位于乌克兰德尼普罗的梅切尼科夫医院的重症监护室，周五，

202 3 年 7 月 14 日 。受伤士兵的激增与此同时

乌克兰上个月发起了大规模反攻 ，试图实现目标

从俄罗斯军队手中夺回其土地。梅奇尼科夫的外科医生

医院是美国最大的医院之一 ，现在比可能更忙

自17个月前俄罗斯开始入侵以来的任何时候。(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

1 / 12

**DNIPRO，乌克兰|战争的恐怖在a**

乌克兰东部的医院 ，担架抬着 尸体从前线掠过。

士兵们身上缠着绷带，四肢湿透了，浑身是血 被弹片熏黑，瞪的眼睛盯着

天花板，冻结在震惊中 。最近，他们带来了越来越大的进步 频繁性

“疼痛 ！一名大腿严重受伤的军人尖叫道

工人们把他转移到一个做外科手术的轮床上。

从东部的战壕 ，北部的森林和开阔地带撤离

在南方的田野里，受伤的士兵开始出现在南方

梅奇尼科夫医院在下午晚些时候 ，还有几十人陷入绝望 手术的需要在第二天太阳升起之前进行。

受伤士兵的激增与少校相一致

乌克兰于今年6月发起了反攻 ，试图夺回其土地，

其中近五分之一现在都在俄罗斯的控制之下。外科医生 梅奇尼科夫现在比俄罗斯以来的任何时候都要忙

17个月前就开始了全面的入侵 他拒绝透露更具体的细节。

在一场将伤亡人数被当作国家机密来处理的战争中 ，医院

作为乌克兰最大的国家之一 ，它可以衡量距离 战斗当他们加剧时 ，医生的工作量也会增加

每天手术包括每晚50到100次手术。

“在这里，我们看到了前线最糟糕的情况。” SerhiiRyzhonko 医院的59岁的首席医生 ，带着疲倦的微笑说。“ 我们有了

50间手术室 ，但这还不够 。”

美联社上周被罕见地进入了这家医院

12个小时的访问见证医生和护士照顾士兵匆忙 从战场到手术室。

在白天，梅切尼科夫作为一个正常的医院 ，进行治疗

患有癌症的患者和其他慢性疾病的患者。但每天晚上的招待会

同样可怕的事情：受伤的士兵到达了很多

无意识，外科医生会做手术 。士兵们随后被派往那里 恢复到其他地方，为下一个夜间的洪水创造空间。

“我们在这里保持着自己的前线，我们明白我们必须这样做， 我们必须坚持下去 。”Tetyana Teshyna ，一个说话温和的人 穿着粉红色工作服的麻醉师。

“这很难，” 特希纳说 ，他在喧闹中保持平静

干净 、有序的医院 。她还想说得更多 ，但却被一个人召唤去了 护士另一项紧急手术即将开始。

乌克兰士兵在多个战区战斗

1500公里（932英里）的前线 ，但反攻- 集中在俄罗斯占领的该国东部和南部

进展缓慢 。小型部队正在被部署来调查一名俄罗斯人

深挖的军队和雷区必须先清除 乌克兰士兵可以试图根除他们。

来自反攻的开局阶段的任何初始势头

已经让位于缓慢的进步 。领土的收益一直是 极小 ，尽管西方的军事捐款

硬件提高了对乌克兰人的期望 重大进展

俄罗斯已经加强了在乌克兰北部的行动，

在莱曼附近，在克雷明尼亚的森林里 ，可能会试图转弯 乌克兰军队。

在前线作战的乌克兰士兵说 ，莫斯科的凶猛 炮兵炮最让他们感到惊讶，尤其是在美国

南部扎波里日日亚地区 ，排雷行动离开这里 他们严重地暴露在敌人的炮火之下。

22岁的奥莱 ·哈拉在莱曼附近被一辆俄罗斯坦克的炮火击中 月，胃和腿受伤。紧张着说话

在医院的重症监护病房 ，哈拉说他的排看到了坦克 但在他们到达手榴弹之前，大炮就击中了他们

发射器

“一天二十四小时，不断地拍摄，一直在……如果不是 （俄国）步兵 ，然后是炮兵 。”“ 它不会停止。”

其他由梅奇尼科夫的医生照顾的士兵也受伤了

在清除俄国战壕中的地雷时 。白俄罗斯的战斗

与使用“黄金 ”呼叫标志的乌克兰士兵一起受伤

这样 。他一直带着他的部队慢慢地走着，每单位5米（码）

一分钟后 ，他被一名俄罗斯士兵伏击 dugout.

随着夜幕的降临，创伤室的活动节奏加快了， 新士兵几乎每15分钟就会一次。

医生和其他医院工作人员的不和谐的声音在大厅里回响，

描述失血量和病例病史 。诊断被排除在外：

大脑中的弹片 ，呼吸道的烧伤，腿部的弹片，a 手臂上的子弹；还有大脑里的弹片。

在梅切尼科夫治疗的受伤病例主要是弹片，

医生说。子弹伤口 ，不那么严重 。受伤的士兵通常是

在靠近前线的医院接受护理 ，一旦稳定下来，

他们被带到梅切尼科夫 ，这段旅程有时只需要一半 一天

资料暂存器西蒙 ·塞肯带来了一个在他的小腿上有一个大伤口的士兵 。A 他解释说 ，止血带被用了大约半天，因为

一名士兵被困在遥远的战壕里，花了几个小时才撤离 他赛臣曾试图鼓励血液流动 ，但可能为时已晚了。

“我们竭尽所能为他的腿而战 ，”他说。

士兵被带到了手术室。雅科夫阿尔巴尤克 看一眼，确定这条腿必须截肢才能挽救

那个士兵的生命。“ 12小时没有血液循环后，肢体会 他解释说 ，之后必须取下止血带

两个小时 ，如有必要，请重新申请。“ 因为一些小错误，我们才会这样做

失去人们的四肢。”

对于阿尔巴尤克来说，手术台上检查的每一个伤口都是生的 对乌克兰士兵所面临的残酷战斗的直白描述

在战斗中：不断的轰炸 ，隐藏的地雷 ，和狡猾的狙击手。

在这个士兵的例子中，他的伤口讲述了一个勇敢的故事；他是 向火堆前进，而不是逃跑。

截肢手术需要20分钟 。阿尔巴尤克用外科锯子来切割 通过骨头 。一名护士把断肢包起来，然后被取出来

离开

附近 ，一名躺在走廊担架上的士兵大声喊他的孩子

女朋友，安娜 。他被带到梅切尼科夫医院 ，这样医生就可以了

治疗几天前在a 医院更靠近前线。

安娜冲到他身边，告诉他要坚强 。他走后 ，她 陷入眼泪。

后来 ，一名名叫Maksym的士兵在战斗中受伤

顿涅茨克地区 ，在重症监护室醒来，看到他的身影 妻子 ，然后让她松了一吻。她和他妹妹一起旅行时 他们得知马克辛姆已经入院接受了手术。

“我很高兴能再见到他们一次 ，”马克辛姆说。

和乌克兰本身一样 ，梅切尼科夫医院也有200多家医院 在过去的十年里，战争被改变了。

这家医院直到俄罗斯才开始治疗受伤的士兵

里振科说 ，这是在2014年入侵的 ，当时它还没有为这项任务做好准备。 士兵们将被允许与内脏溢出和大量的数量

失血 。那时，里仁科看到了他只读过的箱子

教科书今天，梅奇尼科夫因其最先进的设施而受到称赞 还有专业知识——大约有400名医生分布在六栋大楼里。

博士 。米基塔 ·隆布罗佐夫的手术台是一名士兵 左侧大脑被弹片损伤。28岁

神经外科医生优雅的手有条不紊地工作。破碎的头骨碎片

一个接一个地移走 ，直到他能提取出小金属碎片 卡在士兵的脑子里。

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战争教会了隆布罗佐夫如何在55分钟内完成战争。他做到了 他说 ，每天24小时内多达8次

转移

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![](/media/202412//1733464877.4361217.png)

On their own frontline,

Ukrainian surgeons treat waves of soldiers since the

![](/media/202412//1733464877.4447446.png)counteroffensive began

“Pain!” shrieks a serviceman with a gaping thigh wound as medical workers move him to a surgical gurney.

![](/media/202412//1733464877.4523342.jpeg)

Kaiman, a Ukrainian serviceman, shows a Victory sign at the ICU of

Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, July 15, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive

Ukraine launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country's biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.462429.jpeg)

Neurosurgeon Nikita Lombrozo operates on a patient who sustained a shrapnel injury on the left part of the brain, at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded

soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive Ukraine

launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are

busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.473055.jpeg)

Medical staff move a seriously wounded Ukrainian serviceman at the ICU department of Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the

major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to

recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at the Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.4846492.jpeg)

Medical staff treat a seriously wounded Ukrainian serviceman at the ICU department of Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the

major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to

recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at the Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.4933271.jpeg)

A girlfriend of a Ukrainian soldier prays in the corridor while doctors discuss surgery at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday,

July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the

major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to

recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at the Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.5014374.jpeg)

A seriously wounded Ukrainian serviceman lies on a stretcher at the ICU department of Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the

major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to

recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at the Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.5100384.jpeg)

A wounded Ukrainian serviceman smokes a cigarette outside an

ambulance at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July

14, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at the Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other

time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.5191076.jpeg)

Chief Doctor Serhii Ryzhenko speaks to a Oleh Halah, 22, Ukrainian soldier, injured by a Russian tank near Lyman, at Mechnikov

Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of

wounded soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to recapture its land from

Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of the

country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.5267425.jpeg)

A medical worker helps a shell-shocked Ukrainian serviceman enter Mechnikov hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to recapture its land from

Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of the

country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.5373516.jpeg)

Kaiman, a Ukrainian serviceman, shows a Victory sign at the ICU of Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, July 15, 2023. A

surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the major

counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of

the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.5464127.jpeg)

Medics treat Ukrainian soldiers at the ICU of Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, July 15, 2023.A surge of wounded

soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive Ukraine

launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are

busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.5560706.jpeg)

Paramedics transport seriously wounded Ukrainian servicemen on stretchers into Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of

the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.577279.jpeg)

A nurse prepares to treat Ukrainian servicemen at the ICU of

Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, July 15, 2023. A

surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the major

counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of

the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.585426.jpeg)

Neurosurgeon Nikita Lombrozo operates on a patient who sustained a shrapnel injury on the left part of the brain, at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded

soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive Ukraine

launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are

busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

![](/media/202412//1733464877.5941203.jpeg)

Medical staff move a seriously wounded Ukrainian serviceman at the ICU department of Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023.A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the

major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to

recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at the Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

1 / 12

**DNIPRO, Ukraine** | The horrors of war arrive through the night at a hospital in eastern Ukraine, a procession of stretchers bearing limp bodies whisked from the frontline.

The soldiers come with bandaged limbs soaked in blood, faces

blackened with shrapnel fragments and stunned eyes fixed on the

ceiling, frozen in shock. Lately, they’ve been coming with ever-greater frequency.

“Pain!” shrieks a serviceman with a gaping thigh wound as medical

workers move him to a surgical gurney.

Evacuated from trenches in the east, forests in the north and the open

fields of the south, wounded soldiers begin showing up at the

Mechnikov Hospital in late afternoon, and dozens more in desperate need of surgery are wheeled in before the sun rises the next day.

The surge of wounded soldiers coincides with the major

counteroffensive Ukraine launched in June to try to recapture its land, nearly one-fifth of which is now under Russian control. Surgeons at

Mechnikov are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its full-scale invasion 17 months ago, according to doctors at the hospital, who declined to be more specific.

In a war where casualty counts are treated as state secrets, the hospital — one of Ukraine’s biggest — serves as a measurement of distant

battles. When they intensify, so does the doctors’ workload, which these days consists of 50 to 100 surgeries per night.

“Here, we see the worst of the frontline,” Dr. Serhii Ryzhenko, the

hospital’s 59-year-old chief doctor, says with a weary smile. “We have

50 operating rooms, and it’s not enough.”

The Associated Press was given rare access last week to the hospital, a 12-hour visit to witness doctors and nurses care for soldiers rushed

from the battlefield to the operating room.

During the day, Mechnikov functions as a normal hospital, treating

patients with cancer and other chronic diseases. But every night ushers in the same macabre routine: Wounded soldiers arrive — many

unconscious — and surgeons operate. The soldiers are then sent off to recover elsewhere to create space for the next nightly deluge.

“We hold our own frontline here, we understand that we must do this,

we must hold on,” said Dr. Tetyana Teshyna, a soft-spoken anesthesiologist wearing pink scrubs.

“It’s very hard,” said Teshyna, who remains calmamid the bustle in this clean, orderly hospital. She wants to say more but is summoned by a

nurse. Another urgent surgery is about to start.

Ukrainian soldiers are fighting in multiple combat zones along the 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) frontline, but the counteroffensive —

focused in the Russian-occupied east and south of the country — has been slow going. Small units are being deployed to probe a Russian army that is deeply dug in, and minefields must be cleared before

Ukrainian soldiers can attempt to root them out.

Any initial momentum from the opening phase of the counteroffensive

has given way to sluggish advances. Territorial gains have been minimal, despite highly publicized Western donations of military hardware that heightened expectations of a quick Ukrainian

breakthrough.

For its part, Russia has stepped up operations in the north of Ukraine, near Lyman, in the forests of Kreminna, in a possible attempt to corner Ukrainian troops there.

Ukrainian soldiers fighting along the front say the ferocity of Moscow’s artillery barrages has surprised them the most, especially in the

southern Zaporizhzhia region, where mine-clearing operations leave them badly exposed to enemy fire.

Oleh Halah, 22, was hit by artillery from a Russian tank near Lyman this

month, injuring his stomach and legs. Straining to speak in the

hospital’s intensive care unit, Halah said his platoon saw the tank

coming, but the artillery hit them before they could reach their grenade launcher.

“Twenty-four hours a day, constant shooting, all the time … if not (Russian) infantry, then artillery,” he said. “It doesn’tstop.”

Other soldiers being cared for by Mechnikov’s doctors were injured

while clearing mines from Russian trenches. A Belarusian fighting

alongside Ukrainian soldiers who uses the callsign “Gold” was injured this way. He had been walking slowly with his unit, 5 meters (yards) per minute, when he was ambushed by a Russian soldier hiding behind a

dugout.

As evening comes, the pace of activity in the trauma room picks up, with new soldiers arriving nearly every 15 minutes.

Discordant voices of doctors and other hospital staff echo in the halls, describing blood loss and case histories. Diagnoses are called out:

shrapnel in the brain, a burned respiratory tract, shrapnel in the legs, a

bulletin the arm; and, again, shrapnel in the brain.

Shrapnel accounts for the majority of injuries treated at Mechnikov,

doctors said. Bullet wounds, less so. Wounded soldiers are typically

cared for in hospitals closer to the frontline and then, once stabilized, they are brought to Mechnikov, a journey that can sometimes take half a day.

Dr. Simon Sechen brings in a soldier with a wide gash in his shin. A

tourniquet was applied for roughly half a day, he explained, because the soldier was trapped in a faraway trench, and it took hours to evacuate him. Sechen had tried to encourage blood flow, but it maybe too late. “We did all we could to fight for his leg,” he says.

The soldier is taken to the operating room, where Dr. Yakov Albayuk

takes one look and determines that the leg must be amputated to save the soldier’s life. “After 12 hours without blood circulation, the limb will die,” Albayuk said, explaining that a tourniquet must betaken off after two hours and, if necessary, reapplied. “Because of tiny mistakes we’re losing people’s limbs.”

For Albayuk, every wound inspected on the operating table is a raw and unvarnished account of the brutality of the fight Ukrainian soldiers face in combat: constant bombardment, hidden mines, and cunning snipers.

In this soldier’s case, his woundstell a story of bravery; he was advancing toward fire, not running away.

The amputation takes 20 minutes. Albayuk uses a surgical saw to cut

through the bone. A nurse wraps up the severed limb, and it is taken away.

Nearby, a soldier lying on a stretcher in the hallway calls out for his

girlfriend, Anna. He has been brought to Mechnikov so that doctors can treat complications from a leg that was amputated a few days ago at a hospital closer to the frontline.

Anna rushes to his side and tells him to be strong. When he’s gone, she collapses into tears.

Later, a soldier named Maksym, who was injured while fighting in the

Donetsk region, awakens in the intensive care unit to the sight of his

wife, and then a relieved kiss from her. She traveled with his sister when they learned Maksym had been admitted for surgery.

“I am so happy I got to see them one more time,” Maksym said.

Like Ukraine itself, the Mechnikov Hospital — which is more than 200 years old — has been transformed by war over the past decade.

The hospital did not begin treating wounded soldiers until Russia’s

invasion in 2014, when it was not prepared for the task, said Ryzhenko. Soldiers would be admitted with guts spilling out and massive amounts of blood loss. Back then, Ryzhenko saw cases he had only read about in textbooks. Today, Mechnikov is lauded for its state-of-the-art facilities and expertise — roughly 400 doctors spread across six buildings.

On Dr. Mykyta Lombrozov’s operating table is a soldier who sustained a shrapnel injury on the left part of the brain. The 28-year-old

neurosurgeon’s elegant hands work methodically. Crushed skull pieces are removed, one by one, until he can extract the small metal fragments lodged in the soldier’s brain.

It’s a complicated surgery that would normally take up to four hours. The war has taught Lombrozov to finish it in 55 minutes. He does it every day, he says, sometimes up to eight times in a single 24-hour shift.

“It is very important to me, that’s why I am here. That’s why we all work here,” Lombrozov said as he looked down at the soldier. “He is our

hero.”

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at <https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine>

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