Video RFE obtained from Ukrainian military television shows artillery being fired from a field near the eastern city of Slovyansk.
The target of the shelling was not identified. The video was distributed on July 2 as the Ukrainian military said it had regained control of several small towns near Slovyansk, a stronghold of pro-Russian separatists. (Reuters)
Meanwhile, almost all medical institutions are evacuated from Slovyansk. Only the town "V.I. Lenin" hospital continues to work. Deutsche welle (DW) managed to speak to the acting chief Physician Michael Andrijanov.
There is no telephone connection with Slovyansk for few weeks now. Unexpectedly an attempt of DW to get through to the only working medical institution in town turned out to be successful. During few minutes whilst there was a connection DW managed to record a short interview with the acting chief Physician Michael Andrijanov.
DW: Mr Michael, how many wounded get submitted?
Michael Andrijanov: Victims are submitted 24/7. Actually I cannot give you the exact statistics. We do not have time to count, the medics are busy providing assistance. Many people arrive to the hospital without any documents. We don’t even know for sure who they are. The doctors simply do not have time to keep up with the documentation.
No one really knows how many dead and wounded there are - Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine
How do doctors work in the dark if there is no electricity?
In the hospital, the only one still functioning in town, electricians somehow connected additional temporary lines. Sometimes we use a generator, so we have electricity from time to time. There is now, but can be gone tomorrow. When there was no electricity the refrigerators were not working of course, so a lot of valuable medicine was lost. Having it would have enabled us to safe someone’s life. But we are powerless in the dark. We have about hundred people working here. They are on duty 24/7. Some do not even leave the hospital, it is scary to walk home under explosions. Recently our chief nurse was killed.
There's no electricity in whole of Slovyansk
In what conditions do people live?
There is no water, no gas. There has been no electricity for more than 5 weeks now. People are using torches and candles. People walk under shelling. There are no salaries or pensions (Slovyansk is not serviced by the treasury). How can I leave the personnel? How can I leave 70 or 80 thousand residents without our help? Actually I am the Deputy Chief of expertise and have to practice therapeutic and diagnostic work. There is no chief Physician, there is no town health authorities. I am 61 years old, 38 of them in the medicine. I have never prepared myself to the work of the field doctor and didn’t even think that I will have to rescue people in war time in Ukraine.
What do you think, when will the bloodshed stop in Slovyansk? How realistic are the plans for a peaceful resolution?
There was no answer to this question. The connection got lost…
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