There are few pedestrians and even fewer shops and services. When you see movement, it is generally associated with war.
Tankers and troopers – even mobile rocket launchers – thunder on highways and detours. As I write this phrase, four self-propelled grenades just passed in front of a hotel window.
However, there are times in Donbass where normality is infiltrating – and it can happen in unexpected places.
On a visit to an ad-hoc ambulance base in Slovyansk, we found a medical student named “Scyth” (pronounced Skiff) doing his morning exercise. He runs his routine under a tree because he does not want to be seen by Russian drones.
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Nearby, his colleague “Van Damme” hit a tree trunk with his fists and legs, in a martial arts training “do it yourself”. He works as a bodyguard for the ambulance team because it is his job to keep rescuers safe.
“It does not matter to the Russians what will be hit”
Ambulances are protected by international law, but Van Damme says nothing is safe in Donbass.
“No, absolutely nothing is safe. They are always bombing somewhere nearby. They do not care what is hit. I am absolutely sure.”
Image: Van Damme bodyguard in charge of ambulance staff safety
The peace was broken when the first call came and we watched as they ran to the ambulance.
The group is volunteers from a charity called “Pirogov First Mobile Hospital” and has been tasked with collecting wounded soldiers.
Picture: An ad-hoc ambulance base in Slovyansk
The Ukrainians suffered heavy losses on the front and officials began to give numbers. Every day, more than 100 soldiers are killed, with an average of 500 wounded.
When Scyth and his team returned, I asked him what kind of injuries they had suffered.
“Oh, as always. Sad, but as always.”
“It was artillery, was it a shot?” I asked.
“It was artillery,” he said, shrugging.
“It’s like World War I”
Scyth trained in Kyiv to become a plastic surgeon, but his life took an unexpected turn. Now, 90% of all those hospitalized have been hit by shrapnel from artillery fire.
“Sometimes the whole (ambulance) is full of blood. When we have leg amputations, arm amputations or a big injury (in the trunk), there is blood on the floor, blood on the walls, all my clothes have blood, I can This is like the First “World War II, when the soldiers stay in their positions and just wait under the artillery.”
Within minutes, they were back on the road and this time, they allowed us to follow.
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Picture: Scyth and Van Damme doing a martial arts training
A number of soldiers had been hit by artillery shells and the medical team was sent to a reception point near the front.
They hid under the trees on the side of the road and waited for the victims to arrive – the threat from Russian drones is a constant concern.
Eventually, a number of troops were transferred to our location and a man with multiple shrapnel wounds entered our ambulance.
Deserted roads as artillery thunders on the highways
Image: A camouflaged ambulance as doctors warn “absolutely nothing is safe”
However, he had barely been tied up when a round of mortars fell near him. Clearly, this was not a place to hang out.
They stabilized the soldier in the back of the van and rushed him to the local hospital. In a few weeks, they believe he will probably return to the front.
Picture: Inside an ambulance in the city of Slovyansk, in eastern Ukraine
This is what the Ukrainians expect and what the nation needs. Scyth and his team say they will do the best they can.
