Nicolas Tonev (special correspondent in Ukraine), edited by Gauthier Delomez / Photo credits: Diego Herrera Carcedo / ANADOLU / Anadolu via AFP
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7:33 a.m., February 26, 2024
In a context of massive departure of Ukrainians since the start of the Russian invasion, more than two years ago, the issue of soldiers’ survival is more than crucial for kyiv. Near the front, new relief strategies are implemented and considerably increase the chances of survival.
A march in a destroyed village in Donbass, electronic devices turned off so as not to signal themselves to the Russian enemy, and finally the advanced medical center, half buried. Evgueni, an anesthetist, pulls back the black plastic curtain, and reveals an operating room to the special envoy from Europe 1. “We do emergency operations here: the table, the respiratory aid and the patient monitor,” he explains, also showing the wounded’s survival elixir: blood.
In Ukraine, after the departure of millions of refugees, there are only 30 to 35 million people left in the country. The issue of soldiers’ survival is therefore crucial for kyiv, to the point that the units most exposed to the front, such as the Azov brigade, are developing new relief strategies in the trenches.
“A soldier can be transfused in 15-20 minutes”
Faced with the violence of the fighting, to contain losses, doctors invented transfusions here, close to the front. “There is a fridge like this, with blood, 400-500 meters from the fighting. A soldier can be transfused in 15-20 minutes. A nurse is permanently on site to operate,” assures Evgueni to Europe 1 .
The chances of survival increase significantly, which is essential for the Ukrainian army. “If we do not take care of human resources, we will lose this war. A qualified and experienced soldier is a great asset,” agrees the anesthesiologist. This field transfusion system would have saved up to three times more lives than before its implementation.