Horrific Eye Witness Accounts From A Dr In Mariupol

Since the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, Mariupol remains the hottest spot in the country. Subsequently, On March 10, Russian troops held the Mariupol Regional Intensive Care Hospital hostage. Furthermore, after one of the doctors was able to leave the hospital and travel to Ukrainian territory free of occupation, she described exactly how Russian troops took over the hospital and what was going on there.

"I worked at the hospital virtually without days off. Starting February 24, the wounded were being brought in, with more and more every day," said a doctor at the Regional Intensive Care Hospital in Mariupol. She recalls that on March 10, Russian soldiers seized the hospital. The staff and patients of the medical facility were held, hostage.

Eye Witness Accounts Of Russian Atrocities In Mariupol

However, we couldn't talk about the details because the direct eyewitness of the events was still in the medical facility. Now she is free, so we can talk more.

"I remember the day of the hobby very well. We were in the operating room, just doing a C-section. My colleagues said, 'Don't come out of the operating room; there is Russian military.' They came and walked up and down every floor from the first to the eighth. All the doctors and patients were put against the wall, the men were undressed to the waist – they looked to see if there were any military markings on their bodies – they were afraid there would be no military personnel in the hospital. The doctors were also checked to see if they were really medics – they were asked what hemophilia was," she continues.

With each passing day, the Russian soldiers were getting more and more numerous. "They occupied the whole building, spread out their positions," says the doctor. “There were about four men with guns on each floor. The hospital was also completely cordoned off from the outside. They had their own equipment on the perimeter of the hospital. APCs were stationed on all sides. There were snipers on the roof, on the top floors. They were shooting from the hospital! They were breaking in all the doors of the rooms that we were not using, the warehouses. Apparently, they made sure there was no military equipment in the hospital."

Local Residents

Over time, residents of nearby houses began to be brought to the hospital. According to them, the Russian military said that it was dangerous to be in their dilapidated houses and that the hospital had a safe bomb shelter, food, and water. Up to two hundred people were dragged in like this every day. The room quickly became overcrowded.

"People were sitting right on the floor; there were no facilities. Children, old people, and animals are all around. Hungry, frozen. The Russian military promised people water and food, and as a result, there was nothing in the hospital. Unsanitary conditions began. Not all floors of the hospital were functioning. There were no windows on any floor. There were not enough blankets for everyone. We had women who were pregnant and women who had just given birth. We used our own heaters to keep the room warm so that the children would at least stay warm. The hospital had a generator. At first, they said there was enough fuel for six days.

Then more fuel was brought by volunteers. We had no communication with the outside world. First, the electricity was cut off, then the water was cut off for two days, and then the gas was cut off. The internet disappeared the same day as the water. I didn't manage to make a phone call every day. Maybe on the tenth attempt. I used to call my mother from the 8th floor of the hospital because I could get a signal there. And I could only get through to another city. And in Mariupol, there was no connection at all," says the doctor.

Banned From Going Out

No one was allowed out of the hospital, neither the doctors nor the patients. All the cars that approached the hospital were shot at. This was happening in front of the doctors. Even the ambulance was hit. Snipers also worked on patients who were on foot.

"We started asking to leave the hospital. They offered to escort us if it was 'their territory'. And if it's not 'our territory', they said, you're not going anywhere. Patrols were posted near the houses they had destroyed and seized. But they were afraid to go any farther. They said you wouldn't go there – it was dangerous. Then they said you could risk going out. Furthermore, they said that we would not touch you, but the Azov regiment would kill you. They constantly stressed that we don't guarantee your safety," says the doctor.

"They constantly stressed that we do not guarantee your safety," says the doctor.

"I heard about the disappearance of a nurse from the emergency room. It's a young guy. The military said, 'Let's go help. And he didn't come back. Nobody saw him. After that, we always agreed to go in pairs. There was the most important military man of Abkhazian nationality. He said it was not his first war. He had killed and would continue to kill because "it was an honor for him."

The Streets Of Mariupol

The doctor also describes what she saw on the streets of Mariupol when she managed to get out of the hospital premises: "When people were being killed, someone was left lying on the road. We saw one car being shot: someone managed to jump out, but someone didn't. A volunteer came to us. She was 17 years old, and was shot near the hospital – receiving a bullet wound in the stomach. We operated on her, and she survived. I don't know how many were shot near the hospital, but that girl and three others were definitely shot. All the dead were buried in a mass grave. Where I do not know. Maybe my colleagues know. We had a temporary morgue, but then, of course, they were removed.

All hospitals and urban infrastructure in Mariupol have been destroyed, and thousands of people are dead and under the rubble of houses. The Ukrainian army continues its heroic defense of the city. Glory to Ukraine!