He sees soldiers die German paramedic on the Ukraine front line

Russia's war of aggression is claiming victims in Ukraine every day - especially on the front line. "It's hard for us when we have to choose who else to help," says paramedic Michael.

DPA

04.01.2025, 22:30

dpa

In their all-terrain vans, the helpers in Ukraine can only transport two seriously injured people at a time. Paramedic Michael from Germany is also working close to the front line in the Donetsk region. "We have to drive to the front, pick up the wounded man and then drive away again," reports the 39-year-old. "We have to treat him first. And then we have to drive him to the stabilization point." A round trip like this can take a good two to three hours. The patient does not always survive - Michael, who does not want his surname published, has already seen several soldiers die.

Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine has now lasted almost three years. After the war began, he sat at home in northern Germany and thought about it, says the medic in an interview with the German Press Agency. "Then I said to myself: watch out, you'll be doing this full-time for half your life," he says, explaining his decision to travel to Ukraine. The first trip was in March 2023.

In the past year, Michael has already completed four missions, each lasting one month. He also took unpaid leave for this, he says. The 39-year-old does not find understanding for his voluntary work from everyone around him. "Some think it's stupid. They say it's not our war," he says, shaking his head. But others support him and admire his commitment, which they can't imagine doing themselves.

"It's bad for us when we have to choose"

In 2023, Michael first worked with a German and later a US aid organization near Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. He then began working for the Polish medical organization "W miedzyczasie" (German: "In the meantime"), which was involved in the dangerous evacuation of injured soldiers from the front line.

When asked about the worst cases, the professional paramedic has no quick answer. "It's bad for us when we have to choose who we can help and who we can't," he says after a long hesitation. Triage, the categorization and prioritization of patients, is the hardest part of the job.

Hundreds of thousands of wounded Ukrainians since the start of the war

Due to the heavy use of artillery and drones, the paramedics are mainly dealing with fragmentation injuries and the loss of limbs, says Michael.

The Ukrainian president's wife, Olena Selenska, recently put the number of all Ukrainian war invalids, not just amputees, at around 300,000 since the start of the Russian invasion. The British magazine "The Economist" estimated around 400,000 Ukrainian wounded at the end of November, based on various sources. Between 60,000 and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed. Figures which, as the journalists admit, are difficult to verify.

All Russian wounded are treated

It is important to the paramedic from northern Germany that his team does not differentiate between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian prisoners of war. "That has never made a difference for us, because in my eyes, as a medic, it's not my place to decide something like that." All the Russian wounded were treated and cared for in the same way as the others. There have already been ten or twelve of them.

Psychologist helps rescuers deal with the situation

Even under fire, Michael has so far remained calm, according to his own account. "The experience doesn't haunt me when I'm alone or at home," he says. Nevertheless, he talks to others about it and there is also a freelance psychologist in the Polish organization who helps rescuers to process their experiences. "I think that's a very, very important point."

Despite all the risks, he will return to Ukraine in 2025. "I simply have a lot of friends and acquaintances now," says Michael. "In any case, we would still like to visit Odessa." But for a visit to the city on the Black Sea, the war would have to end first.