This story is about a doctor of the Kherson Regional Clinical Hospital, about his work, his family, the time he spent in the occupation. A story about the thirst for victory, principles, and strength of spirit.
What was your life like before full-scale war broke out
Before the start of full-scale hostilities, I worked in the Kherson Regional Clinical Hospital as an anesthesiologist in the intensive care unit.
How was your February 24th?
No one expected February 24 to be what it turned out to be. We lived on the outskirts of the city, 10 kilometers from the airport in Chornobayivka. It started on February 24 with a phone call from my wife and her words about a strong explosion on the outskirts of the city. That night I was on duty at the hospital. At five in the morning, the head of the department told us to prepare the intensive care unit and deploy 30 beds. We redid the intensive care unit from 10 beds to 30 before 10 am. After that, I took my wife and one-month-old child to the Mykolaiv region, to my mother, and returned to Kherson to work. Already at night, the first wounded boys began to arrive. Active work has begun.
How long were you in occupied Kherson?
At first, it was forbidden to move around the city, so I lived in the hospital until the end of March. Some of my colleagues and I were allocated a ward in the urology department, by that time many people had already left the city. We provided urgent aid to our boys and the civilian population: there were many serious shrapnel wounds during the constant bombardment. At the end of March, we were issued passes to move around the city, and we could already return to our homes at our leisure.
From February 26, Kherson was completely occupied. The city was under a complete blockade: pharmacies and shops were closed. Nothing worked. People lived on what was left. It was much easier for us, since the hospital provided food and overnight accommodation. Three weeks after the occupation of the city, communication and mobile Internet began to disappear. That is, people no longer had the opportunity to contact their relatives, you don’t know where your loved ones are, what happened to them, are they alive at all? It was very difficult morally.
Please tell us what life was like in Kherson
Occupied Kherson, spring 2022. The Ukrainian flag flies on the territory of the regional clinical hospital
Our hospital provided all the necessary assistance to the residents of the city and to our wounded soldiers. During the entire time I was in Kherson, there wasn’t a single rashist in the hospital, well, I mean, alive. As I’ve already said, we were just in time to provide urgent assistance to the townspeople. The hospital administration didn’t cooperate with the occupation authorities at all. Some hints of cooperation with the occupiers began when I had already left, and there were 3-4 people left in our department who couldn‘t leave Kherson in any way. Now all my colleagues are either in the ranks of the Armed Forces or have left through the Crimea to the countries of the European Union. At that time, we were all patriotic, and every morning I looked to see if the Ukrainian flag was sometimes flying under the windows of our office.
When did you decide to leave Kherson? And why?
It happened on Easter. I went to my family, my little child and my wife, because Easter is a family holiday. I was leaving with my brother, taking two more girls and a cat. We were leaving for 72 hours. It was spring, it was damp, we drove through the fields and along the road, looking to see where we could pass. On the way, we crossed 48 roadblocks, where we were repeatedly checked. All the boys at the checkpoints were stripped and checked for the presence of patriotic symbols and tattoos. The experience is, of course, interesting, but you wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
What did you feel when you found yourself on the territory controlled by Ukraine?
I felt joy. Those girls started crying, and I tried to calm them down. The first photo I took when I was in the territory controlled by Ukraine: a photo where a little girl gave a soldier of the Armed Forces a bouquet of dandelions, and he placed them on his armored car. It was April 24. Just in time for Easter. Then I went to Kryvyi Rih, where my family was then.
What was your life like when you returned to the territory controlled by Ukraine?
I didn’t return to Kherson — my wife didn’t let me go. And I couldn’t think of anything better than to meet the guys from the charitable non-profit organization “Life Saving Center” and go as a volunteer to help in the medical and nursing teams: first in Petropavlovsk, then in Pokrovsk, then in Kurakhovo. For about three weeks, I volunteered: I was engaged in bandaging, evacuation, and stabilization of the seriously injured. After that, I received a subpoena for mobilization, to join the ranks of the Armed Forces as a doctor. Now I work as an anesthesiologist in a military hospital. I do everything I can to save the lives of our wounded boys and girls. I work in resuscitation, people are always in a difficult condition. In addition to the necessary medical care, our soldiers almost always need a banal conversation, some kind of moral support.
Have all these events changed you in any way?
Before the war, I worked as an anesthesiologist in resuscitation. I’ve always seen the last minutes or hours of people’s lives, so I wouldn’t say that these events somehow changed my attitude towards life. The time spent in the occupation made it clear that the material things that you long for are all really unnecessary. Everything you need can fit in a backpack. And the rest turned out to be completely unimportant.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Glory to Ukraine.
Glory to heroes.
Translator: Bohdana-Nikolietta Terekhina
