The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
He began his service back in 2017 in the National Guard of Ukraine, signed a contract, and fought in assault units near Avdiivka and in the Luhansk region.
The story of the combat medic was shared on the page of the 41st Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Several enemy FPV drones hit a vehicle carrying soldiers to their positions. One of the men received a severe injury. Luckily, at that moment, the senior combat medic of the 41st Brigade’s mechanized company, call sign “Hannibal”, was on duty.
“The soldier had multiple shrapnel wounds on the right side of the body — from the elbow joint to the thigh. We counted about 15 wounds, and another fragment struck the groin area. There was heavy bleeding.
My comrade — also the company’s senior combat medic — and I immediately began applying tamponade and bandages. The sky above us was literally swarming with enemy drones. One UAV attempted to attack us. But our soldier shot it down in the darkness. We managed to get the wounded man into a basement”, — he recalls.
“Hannibal” and his comrade took care of the soldier for a full day under constant shelling. Eventually, the wounded fighter was evacuated to safety.
“Hannibal” recalls that the vehicle “flew like in the Paris–Dakar Rally”, and the men could barely stay in the truck bed. But everything turned out well.
The combat medic says the soldier survived thanks to timely first aid. He insists there was nothing heroic — he simply did what he had to.
“Hannibal” is an experienced serviceman from the Donetsk region. He began his service in 2017 in the National Guard of Ukraine.
Later he suffered a severe spinal fracture and, after long rehabilitation and treatment, was forced to leave the service.
He returned to duty after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He also managed to evacuate his family to Kharkiv from his hometown, which is now almost destroyed by continuous fighting.
“At first, I served in mobile fire groups that destroyed enemy drones, and later I joined the 41st Brigade. At first, I was a rifleman and fought in the Kursk region. Then I mastered tactical medicine. I find it interesting”, — he says.
According to him, when he first joined the service, no one knew anything about modern tourniquets or the MARCH algorithm.
He plans to continue his military service and study further. “Hannibal” also enjoys cooking — unsurprising, as his civilian specialty is culinary. He gladly cooks borscht, cheese soup, and sushi for the guys — and even fried potatoes for them right on positions.
