Targets for Russian terrorists: how Russia deliberately homes in on people who are saving lives

17 months of full-scale war, thousands of rocket attacks, hundreds of victims. An ambulance is the first to arrive at the scene of any attack, bringing medics who rescue and stabilise patients and are the first to come under fire. 

Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia is sharing stories of medics working in frontline regions from whom Russia has tried to take away what is most precious to them – their lives. These are stories about people who could not leave their jobs and continued to save the lives of others even when bleeding to death themselves.

Zaporizhzhia

Tetiana Lazareva, an emergency medicine paramedic with the Regional Centre for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine,

was injured by missile debris while on her way to rescue people after an attack

During the May bank holidays last year, at around 22:00, Tetiana and her team were on their way to a man with a shrapnel wound in the village of Malokaterynivka.

They were driving very fast because they had been informed that the patient was bleeding from the femoral artery. There were only about 15-20 metres to go, and they just had to turn at a crossroads towards a burning house where the wounded man was thought to be after the Russian missile explosion. But no sooner had all the emergency services arrived than Russia hit the same place a second time. 

"A fire broke out, the house caught fire, tree trunks and debris were falling, heavy smoke was pouring out, an iron fence flew off and fell right in front of us, someone's car jumped up and landed across the road, and the ambulance was thrown into the air. Pieces of that missile were hitting the walls, the roof and the windscreen. And these incredibly beautiful bright flowers bloomed in the sky right above us. They reminded me of fireworks."

Later, Tetiana realised that the "fireworks" were a phosphorus bomb or something similar. 

The driver started to turn the vehicle round in an attempt to get out of the trap, but then there was another explosion. Then Tetiana felt as if something had hit her on the back of the head. Her ears hurt and her head was pounding. Now, as she recalls that day, she says it was only thanks to the driver's professionalism and skill that they survived. 

"He saved us, even though the windscreen was completely cracked, there was no light in the village, the road was damaged and strewn with debris, and explosions kept echoing all around us... But he found the strength not to panic and just drive, to save himself and us, despite having blood running down his temple and arm. I have so much respect for him," says Tetiana.

Their team was met at the substation, given first aid and taken to hospital. They stayed in hospital until the morning, being bandaged up and having drips put in. Specialists calmed them down and just talked to them. 

When asked if she will continue to work in the ambulance service, Tetiana answers: "Yes, that's a given. I made a conscious decision to choose this profession and I’m not going to give it up. After all, saving lives is my duty and my vocation, especially in wartime, because I’m an ambulance paramedic. And I really hope I’ll remain one for the rest of my life."

Kherson 

Andrii Borodin, an emergency medicine paramedic at the Bilozerka emergency medical station,

came under fire from the occupiers during an ambulance callout

On 26 February 2022 the Russian army did not stop attacking Kherson Oblast even for an hour, firing from aircraft, artillery and small arms. The medics in the midst of the shooting continued to respond to callouts until the very last. 

Early in the morning, Andrii started his shift. A few minutes later, Russia started up another attack. The dispatcher received a call to go to a wounded man in the village of Beryslav district, on the left bank of Kherson Oblast. Andrii's team stabilised the wounded man and took him to Kherson for hospitalisation. They were only a few kilometres away from the hospital when the occupiers opened fire, aiming at the ambulance.

It was day two of the full-scale war, so the medics could not yet imagine that Russia was ignoring all the rules of warfare and that they were now a target in the occupiers’ sights. 

Andrii received multiple injuries, yet despite being in a serious condition himself, he continued to work to save his patient and managed to inform the team that was following them about the danger of attacks, saving their lives.

"I suddenly realised that this was no accident, that they were trying to kill us and it was a targeted strike. My colleagues would have suffered in the same way, so I mustered all the strength I had and tried to call them and warn them," says Andrii.

While still in hospital, and then at home, Andrii dreamed of returning to work above everything. Even while on sick leave, walking on crutches, he continued to help people.

Five months after the Russian attack, Andrii returned to his duties again and began working as part of the emergency team.

At the time, civilians could only leave the village where Andrii lived if they had permission from the occupying forces. Andrii’s hatred for those who had nearly taken his life was immense, but he understood that people were in dire need of his help and constantly kept his emotions in check as he carried on with his work. Andrii bravely held himself together for the sake of his family and the opportunity to continue working.

Despite ceaseless attacks and danger, Andrii Borodin still works at the emergency medical centre.

Kharkiv Oblast

Daniel Dziuba, an emergency medicine paramedic at the Centre for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine,

came under fire from Russian cluster munitions

In June last year, when part of Kharkiv Oblast was still under Russian occupation, ambulances continued to go on emergency callouts to villages that were only a few hundred metres away from Russian positions. 

Daniel and his team were sent on a callout to the village of Slobozhanske in Chuhuev district. The Russians opened fire on their vehicle when they were a few metres short of their destination. 

Daniel recalls that at the moment of the attack, he, the driver and the patient’s wife stopped, got out and fell to the ground. Everything was exploding all around them. Russian forces were bombarding them with artillery.

Numerous shards of debris pierced through the ambulance, one wounding Daniel in the leg. Yet despite being injured, the paramedic focused on treating his patient rather than himself. 

While he was helping the patient, the driver quickly replaced a damaged wheel and tried to get the vehicle going again. Daniel scanned the area affected by the shelling, making sure no one else had been injured in the attack before he started patching himself up. 

"We only had two specialist vehicles," the paramedic says. "I reckoned that if one was damaged, and the other had to take me to the hospital in Kharkiv, then other patients would be left without timely help. The decision was simple – I would be my own patient, so the driver and I went to Kharkiv in the vehicle that had been damaged by shrapnel."

Daniel spent the next three weeks in hospital and returned to his duties before he had fully recovered. 

"Yes, there were times when the pain was unbearable – sometimes it was really hard after I was injured. But I knew that I had to keep the promise I had made to myself – that I would live to see Ukraine’s victory and bring it closer each and every day on my personal front line," Daniel adds.

Tetiana Moskovska, an emergency medical assistant at the Centre for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine,

was injured when an ambulance was thrown up by a blast wave

In March 2022, Tetiana and her team were out on a call to help a patient with acute kidney pain. Instead, she ended up seriously injured.

Tetiana’s team was on its way when an air-raid warning was announced in the city – the sirens in Kharkiv almost never stopped in the early weeks of the war. 

The team had already seen the patient and reported to the dispatcher when suddenly their vehicle was thrown up into the air. A projectile had landed a few metres away from the vehicle.

"At that moment, our driver Oleksandr was able to think on his feet and get away from the site. I felt a very strong, dull pain in my stomach, an overwhelming weakness. I thought it was just the shock wave that had hit me, that I’d go back to work as soon as I’d been checked out and treated in the hospital, so I told the driver to take me there. However, it turned out that my injury was too serious, and I couldn’t go back to work immediately," Tetiana recalls.

After she was wounded, Tetiana’s treatment went on for a long three months. She started working again at the end of May. She admits to feeling a little fearful on the first day, but it quickly passed. And there was never any doubt in her mind about whether to continue working in emergency medical care.

"The war left me with no choice, so I’ve stayed in my job, and my family has supported me through the most difficult times. Even my daughter's husband has come to work as an ambulance driver," Tetiana says.

Translation: Myroslava Zavadska and Theodore Holmes 

Editing: Teresa Pearce