Memories of Russia’s attack leave wounded Alina alone – “A pregnant woman and two children died in front of me”

TUHUIV Alina was on his way from Kharkov to his hometown of Izjum when the war reached him.

In the middle of the day, Russian troops appeared on the road and started firing at Alina’s bus.

Eight of the bus’s 22 passengers died.

– Grandma and the driver died. There was a pregnant woman in the back of the bus, she died too. There were two mothers, their sons died before me. Neither of the boys survived, Alina says, holding back her tears.

Alina got a bullet in her thigh and dragged out of the bus to the best of her ability.

Passengers called an ambulance and were admitted to a Ukrainian hospital in the city of Chuhuiv.

Chuhuiv is located southeast of Kharkov near the front line of the war. There is little to do with the explosions, the war between Russia and Ukraine.

– It’s hard to sleep, I wake up, I have nightmares. It’s really hard mentally when I hear the sounds of war. I just wish there was no war.

Chuhuiv Hospital, like many others, now treats injuries caused by shards and bullets.

– Patients have different injuries than during peace. Many are mentally ill. Of course, this is heavy for everyone, says the chief physician Andriy Proskurnin.

He says the staff has not had any days off since the war began. The workload has also been increased by the fact that some of the staff have fled the war from the locality.

– We help, we work. All for the good of the motherland, Andriy says.

The hospital cannot handle routine check-ups but only serious illnesses and war injuries.

There is a shortage of medicines, although volunteers bring many supplies. Wartime would also require different technology.

– We need a 4D ultrasound device. For we would be able to remove fragments in soft tissues accurately. Now we have to look for them by cutting because the x-ray is not accurate enough.

According to the chief doctor, the fear and living in the basements is very grueling.

– As doctors, we are not afraid of physical work, but mentally it is really difficult to bring wounded women and children here.

Yevgeny and Sergei lying in the same room. They are from a small village outside Chuhuiv.

They lived with their families for more than a month in the basements of their houses. Last week, the fire seemed to have waned and the friends decided to meet on the street.

– We were standing on the street when the Russian fire started. There was an explosion, shards, Yevgeny says.

– Two of us came to the hospital, our third friend stayed there. He died in the attack.

Yevgeny bursts into tears as he tries to share his feelings about the war.

– I have six children. This is scary, really awful, he gets said until he can’t continue because of tears.

Sergei says Russia has, among other things, carried out free strikes on their village, even though he says there is nothing there. Just farms.

The Serhyi Pritula Foundation, which distributes medical aid, says it is still possible to operate in Ukrainian hospitals, but the situation behind enemy lines is desperate.

– Russian soldiers are stealing medicines and have arrested leading doctors and health officials.

– There is a huge shortage of insulin, for example. Russia blocks humanitarian aid delivery to areas under their control Rustam Garniev told a week ago in Kiev.