war story
Kiyv, Kharkiv region, Ukraine - Nov 1, 2023
Surgeon Volodymyr at the beginning of big war
Surgeon Volodymyr
at the beginning of big war
aiI served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a senior orthopedic surgeon for seven years, from 2014 to 2021. While I gained a lot of experience in military surgery and treatment of all kinds of gunshot and shelling wounds, I also continued arthroscopic education, mostly abroad. I’m an international member of the Arthroscopic Association of North America and graduated from two courses in Chicago, in 2015 and 2021.
aiWhile my family always supported me in the military, at the end of 2021 I decided to leave and continue my work in a private hospital. I do not explain all my reasons but I thought it was enough for me.
aiAfter just 2 1/2 months as a private citizen, the big war started and Russia occupied a large part of Ukraine. Now, since the first day of the full-scale invasion, I am back in the army at my military hospital, doing what I can do the best.
Seven years of service and just 2 1/2 months as private citizen I am back, on the front line
aiMy battlefield experience helped me organize the defense of the hospital in Kyiv in the early days. And of course I did a lot of surgeries on wounded serviceman. I remember when the American journalist, Benjamin Hall, was admitted to the hospital with severe injuries. His fellow cameraman and journalist had been killed. I did all I could to save his left arm and left leg from amputation. Later he was evacuated to the United States.
aiAfter a year in the Kyiv hospital I was transferred to an assault brigade and have served here until now. I miss my lovely wife. She’s a lawyer and anticorruption specialist in the defense industry. Her name is Maryna. Now, she stays at Кiyv with her daughter and our dog and two kitties. They are the main power motivators that keep me going.
ai...By the way, a few months ago she was invited to an online meeting of California lawyers to describe the work and life of attorneys in Ukraine during the war.
