"A few hours of quiet, then a barrage of fire": the story of a military medic who saves lives at the front
Ivan Melets is 32, which makes him the same age as Independent Ukraine. He is also an anesthesiologist at St Panteleimon’s Hospital in the city of Lviv, Ukraine. Now, Ivan is saving lives on the front line.
This story was told by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
Ivan’s medical career began in 2009. He studied at the faculty of military medicine and graduated from Bogomolets National Medical University. After graduating, he signed a contract and started his military service. When the war with Russia started in 2014, he kept studying more and more.
"Back then I didn’t have enough medical practice, but if I was going to save others and survive myself, I had to learn fast," Ivan recalls.
He spent five years learning from experienced military medics in big army hospitals near the front line in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.
After his contract ended, Ivan worked at civilian hospitals in Kyiv and Lviv, but only for two years. When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, he went to the front as a volunteer and became the captain of a medical brigade.
Ivan says this war is completely different from what he had seen before. He has to work in areas close to the contact line – cellars, abandoned houses, and so on.
"We never know how long our positions will be attacked for. Sometimes it’s quiet for several hours and then a barrage of fire comes onto us and lasts for days. And we still need to take the injured soldiers away somehow," Ivan explains.
He says he sees a lot of deep and serious wounds to the face and body, and torn and crushed limbs. But together with other medics, he does all he can to ensure the soldiers’ lives can be saved in big hospitals.
Ivan works in a field hospital together with surgeons, medical assistants and junior medical staff. They have all the tools they need: there are even medical ventilators in their mini intensive care unit.
But Ivan has also had to deal with hopeless cases, including one of his brothers-in-arms.
"There was an attack on an area adjacent to the medical centre. One of our soldiers was hit by a shell fragment which tore his chest, lungs, stomach and internal organs, and the entire area from the right axillary artery to the thigh. He bled to death. There was nothing we could do to help," Ivan says with sadness.
He also says that it is important to camouflage yourself properly and take the terrain into account. Your emotional state is important as well.
Ivan’s brigade treats a very large number of injured defenders every month. In order to survive and save others, he has to live by the laws of war.
"You can’t let stress or fear affect you. Each mistake costs someone’s life," Ivan stresses.
Today Ivan Melets is fighting on the Kharkiv front. His wife and three-year old daughter are waiting for him at home.
Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
