Name: The cost of war: Ukraine’s amputee soldiers
Uploaded: 2024-09-09T14:35:37.781Z
Duration: 4 min 1 s
Description: From her archive, Christiane Amanpour revisits a rare look at doctors and frontline patients in a Dnipro hospital in eastern Ukraine and shares an emotional update on the condition of one terribly wounded soldier she met there.

From her archive, Christiane Amanpour revisits a rare look at doctors and frontline patients in a Dnipro hospital in eastern Ukraine and shares an emotional update on the condition of one terribly wounded soldier she met there.

Dnipro

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

The parking lot at Dnipro's Metchnikov Hospital is crowded with ambulances. These patients, fully stabilized after their wounds were treated, are being evacuated to hospitals in ten other Ukrainian cities. This process allows room for the next wave of casualties. According to the hospital's resuscitation ward director, Serhii Ryzhenko, 28,000 frontline soldiers have been brought to this hospital since Russia's full-scale invasion began. Every day and night, 50 to 100 patients with severe injuries arrive, many from the Avdivka Donetsk region.

In one ward, Army Sergeant Vasily Hulyak, injured and operated on within two days, had three limbs amputated. Vasily described the Russian forces' tactics and expressed determination, stating that as long as Ukraine fights on its own land, they will not give up.

Vasily’s parents, Mykola and Halina, shared their son's unwavering commitment to defending Ukraine. Non-stop surgery efforts have contributed to a 95 percent survival rate at the hospital, bolstered by a decade of improved combat surgery techniques.

Whitney Tilson, an American philanthropist, has raised funds for essential supplies at the hospital. He highlighted the global significance of supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. Despite his injuries, Vasily remains determined to contribute to the defense efforts and is undergoing an intensive rehab program with his family’s support. He is preparing for prosthetic limbs and remains committed to the cause.



The cost of war: Ukraine’s amputee soldiers

The parking lot at Dnipro's Metchnikov Hospital is jammed with ambulances. These patients are the lucky ones. Fully stabilized here after their wounds have been treated, they are being evacuated to hospitals in 10 other Ukrainian cities. It's a bloody carousel because they're making room for the next wave of casualties. In the resuscitation ward, director Serhii Ryzhenko tells us in the two years of Russia's full-scale invasion, 28,000 frontline soldiers have been brought to this hospital alone. From 50 to 100 patients, very, very serious, very, very serious. Every day, every night, 50 to 100 patients from the Avdivka Donetsk region. And the injuries are grave, shrapnel from artillery, mines and other direct fire. Avdivka is the town that recently fell, and that's where these soldiers have come from. But in the next ward, alone in his room, Army Sergeant Vasily Hulyak was injured on Sunday, operated on Monday, and had three limbs amputated. He says the Russians are basically just throwing meat at us, mobilized men who run at us in an open field. Do you have enough troops and enough ammunition? How do you fight them? We're on our own land, says Vasily. We fight to the last and do not give up. If they get past us, our families will be next. We have no right to lose. Waiting in the corridor outside, his worried parents. You know, he didn't ask us to go, said Mykola. We didn't tell him not to. He said he had to. And his mother, Halina, tells us, he said, I'll do everything I can and everything that's in my power. Like so many Ukrainians, they've given their son to the defense of this land ever since Putin started robbing them of it 10 years ago. The director tells us non-stop surgery every day, all day, in all the operating rooms contributes to the 95 percent survival rate, which is higher now after 10 years of improved combat surgery and techniques. Every operation, every patched up patient is a matter of patriotic duty. Even giving blood is marked with a celebration. Here we run into American hedge funder and philanthropist Whitney Tilson, who's raised money for ambulances, generators, battery packs. But beyond the humanitarian, he sees the big picture. I think the stability of the entire world depends on the West helping Ukraine stand up to this aggression, because if we let Putin win, I think this is just the beginning. And somehow, incredibly, like the other wounded warriors we've spoken to, Vasily says he wants to get back to his comrades on the Eastern Front. You and your soldiers still highly motivated? You've been fighting for 10 years. I have no choice, he replies. Do you understand? Of course I'm motivated. As for the lost limbs, he says he can be a trainer. He can still be useful in this fight, which from here looks like it'll last a lot longer than anyone thought. And we are happy that more than six months since we last saw him in that Dnipro hospital, we can share good news that Vasily is now going through an intensive rehab program, his wife and daughter by his side, ensuring that he has the love of family, as well as the professional care and preparation to have prosthetic legs and an arm fitted. It's a story of uncommon valor.

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Ukraine Invasion