Putin destroys Ukraine’s healthcare system with devious strategy

Medical workers in Ukraine joke that Vladimir Putin‘s soldiers see the Red Cross on ambulances as a target.

When Russian tanks entered Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it was clear that the rules of war were ignored, marking a new era in Eastern European history.

The Kremlin is targeting hospitals, medical centers, pharmacies, and paramedics in the conflict.

Every day for the past three years, Ukraine’s health system has been attacked almost two times per day, totaling 1,336 attacks.

The media found nearly 1,000 attacks like this, showing Russia’s plan to ruin important buildings and systems.

The data shows that 699 attacks harmed or ruined hospitals and medical facilities. 75 of these attacks affected hospitals for children and 54 affected hospitals for women’s health.

Meanwhile, 198 people who work in health were attacked and killed, and 137 were hurt.

Canadian volunteer combat medic Brandon Mitchell almost died two times while he was in Ukraine.

His team had to leave a medical checkpoint in Zaporizhzhia because they heard on a captured radio that the Russian military was going to bomb it.

Less than a day later, the center was burned in the attack after escaping from the position.

“Russia knew it was a medical area, so they destroyed it, but we had already left and that’s just usual,” he told Metro. couk

Brandon drove an ambulance through two enemy mines during an evacuation and set off an explosion.

It’s amazing that the 37-year-old person lived. He got very hurt and had to stay in the hospital for six weeks to get better. Until now, the attack still makes him feel very scared and upset.

Before the explosion, the paramedic saved four children, but he still felt bad about it.

‘After I got out of the ambulance, I felt like I had done enough. ‘ Brandon said he doesn’t have to do anything else.

I don’t need to show that I am a man again. I was really afraid that week, it was hard.

Afterwards, I felt bad for feeling relieved and happy, but it’s normal for people to feel that way.

I don’t know how you write that stuff. I’m sorry for using that language, but it’s true.

Russia often waits for 30 minutes after bombing civilians, then attacks again when the first responders arrive.

Just like in the war in Syria, Brandon said that this “double tap” attack is what often causes emergency workers to get killed or hurt.

This is how some of his friends died in the attack at the train station in the city of Kramatorsk in April 2022.

Brandon came to Ukraine not long after the invasion started. He brought help like food, medicine, and other things from Lviv to Kharkiv.

In the end, he joined a group of volunteer medics called the Hospitallers. They help injured Ukrainian soldiers in the war area by giving them first aid and bringing them to safety.

He took a short break from working on the frontline to go to the UK. He toured cities with a bombed ambulance from Kherson that was brought over for the two-year anniversary.

Kateryna Pryimak, who started a group for Ukrainian women veterans, went to London to work with a team of paramedics. She was seen holding a sign that said, “I am a medic from Ukraine and I brought this ambulance that Russia tried to destroy. ” There are many more.

In 2014, when there was a war in eastern Ukraine, she didn’t want to stay at home, so she joined the Hospitallers.

She worked as a paramedic for 11 months in the areas near Donetsk airport that were very hot.

In 2022, when Putin came back strong, she started giving humanitarian help instead.

Kateryna has seen some really scary things during the invasion – like women soldiers carrying grenades to protect themselves from the Russians, and attacks on ambulances carrying injured people.

She said: “We live in a world that your mind can’t understand. ” It’s similar to a video game, like Call of Duty. We are very sad.

As a medic, you can’t do much when big bombs come every 10 minutes. I didn’t have a gun to keep myself safe.

Kateryna remembered a time in 2014 when Russians took a Ukrainian radio and used it to ask for medical help in the east.

When they got there, the enemy soldiers started shooting at them using a strategy that the Russians used a lot during the war.

She said: ‘If soldiers kill all the medics, then nobody will be able to treat Ukrainian troops and civilians. ‘

Russian soldiers are not only attacking the health system, but also arresting and scaring healthcare workers.

People in Ukrainian territories that are controlled by another country have been forced to change their citizenship in order to get medical treatment. This process is called “passportization”.