By Andriy Kornichuk, Grace Baptist, Rivne, Ukraine

A couple of weeks ago, a group of pastors from Rivne and I spent a week on the front lines near the town of Bakhmut, where some of the deadliest and fiercest fighting of this war is raging right now.

Broken lives and destruction

The first thing that strikes you when you approach the combat zone are the fortifications, lots of military equipment, and heavily armed soldiers. We were allowed to pass through the checkpoints without any obstacles, as we had special passes.

As we got closer to our destination, our eyes were opened to the sheer amount of brokenness and destruction all around us. The Russian troops have brought so much misery to our land. We found ourselves in a town 5-7 km from the front lines. It hasn't a single surviving house. Absolutely everything is destroyed. The Russian strategy is to raze everything to the ground. Broken infrastructure, shot civilian vehicles, burned military equipment, and broken lives.

It was on the outskirts of this town where we helped medics save the lives of wounded soldiers.

The high price of freedom

We helped out at an emergency medical station in what was left of a hospital. The windows on the ground floor are covered with plywood in several layers, as there are no surviving windows due to the shelling and explosions.

The wounded are brought here from the front line in armored vehicles. On one day, there were more than 60 of them; on other days, there were more than this. Many of them are shell-shocked, and all have shrapnel, mine, or bullet wounds. Here they are treated, the bleeding is stopped, and they are quickly sent to hospitals where they can receive long-term qualified care!

I spent most of my time with the doctors in the operating room, bringing the wounded there, cutting off their clothes, helping to treat their wounds, and turning them over.

One warrior was brought in, and as we were carrying him on a stretcher from the car, he kept saying, "Breathe...I can't breathe." He had severe wounds to his arm and chest. We immediately started giving him medical care to save his life. After trying to bring him back to life for more than twenty minutes, performing heart massage, the doctor stopped us and said, "I declare him dead."

Everyone went out, but I stayed with him for a while. I closed his eyes, thanked him for giving his life for us, and prayed for his family, who would not see their father and husband again. He had a medallion around his neck given to him by his wife, with the words of a prayer engraved on it, "God, I pray that You will take away bad luck from him and keep him safe. He means so much to me. I love him more than my life. Your Olha."

Sadly, she will not see her husband alive. These warriors sacrifice themselves to stop the enemy! They follow the example of Jesus Christ who gave His life to save us from death.

Everybody does their job and works for a common cause.

The work of the doctors and all the medical staff was simply amazing. They work in extraordinarily difficult conditions, and often they simply do not have time to wash the floor of blood and mud, as the fighters are brought directly from the battlefield. There were moments when there was no room on the tables, and the doctors had to kneel on the floor to help the wounded.

Each of them has their own clearly defined function. One moment particularly touched me. There was a military man who was in charge of keeping the place in order. I saw him taking out the garbage, and fetching water, but suddenly when there was a large influx of wounded soldiers, I saw him putting a catheter into a vein – it turned out that he was a medic as well. Once again, I was convinced how much this war has united the nation and the whole world in the fight against evil!

Humor helps you not to go crazy

This is something that surprised me. Although working under extreme stress, these heroic doctors were constantly joking throughout the day. Even when they perform complex operations, they are still joking. I asked the commander, "How can you find humor in such conditions?" and he replied, "If you work too hard and worry too much, you will go crazy in two weeks, or your heart will fail." So, they're using humor to assist them to do their job incredibly professionally.

There were a few days when, almost every 30-40 seconds, there were shells exploding only 100 meters away! The explosions were so strong that everything inside the building was shaking, as well as doors being blown open. Despite this, the medical staff were cool, calm, and collected and continued doing their jobs regardless of the hell outside.

To love Ukraine is to love a Ukrainian, your neighbor!

Love for your country is not about posting a picture with a flag – it is a manifestation of practical love for the one next to you! Love in action is especially evident at the frontline. No wonder people become close brothers and sisters here.

Trouble brings us closer together. Today, our country is like a wounded body that bleeds; therefore, we are called to serve those in need as one organism. There are different needs. And how many more will come...

I want to thank everyone who is helping us during this period! I thank HART and the Canadian/USA people who have so clearly shown their brotherly hearts to our people in this time of need! Thank you for your financial support, which makes our ministry possible. We thank God for you, your open hearts, and your willingness to continue to bear our burdens!

With prayers, Pastor Andriy Korniychuk, Rivne, Ukraine