"On the outside, we may be made of iron, but at heart we are girls"
In a war zone, women often fight alongside men. Reports and award lists describe their exploits sparingly: "she carried them out from under fire," "established communication," "saved the lives and health of the fighters." Our heroines are one of them, and each has its own poignant story. Senior Warrant Officer Irina Lutsenko evacuated the wounded gunners right from the front line. Midshipman Veronika Makarova, under heavy fire, established communication in an important sector of the front. Sergeant Larisa Brun stood at the operating table for a day. Two of our interlocutors had their husbands killed at the front, and one has a husband and son-in-law currently serving in her area. Izvestia talked with the participants of the SVO and learned how medical care is provided at artillery positions, why a sense of humor is needed and why soldiers who have gone through fire and water can panic at the sight of a signalman.
"While we were on the road, the guys stopped contacting us."
Senior Warrant Officer Irina Lutsenko is a paramedic of the self—propelled artillery battalion. In the free zone almost from its very beginning — since June 2022. For the first three months, she worked at the brigade's permanent location, like everyone else, following the news coming from the front.
"It was very hard to watch all this, to realize that there was such a serious situation," she recalls. — I was working with conscripts then.
Irina says that initially they did not want to take women to the front line, but then the head of the brigade called and asked: "Are you ready to go on YOUR own?"
The call did not come as a surprise to Irina, she had already made her decision.
"I said, 'Yes, I'm ready.' I packed up and literally on the third day I was in the free zone," she says.
The first point is in the Luhansk People's Republic. In the summer of 2022, heavy fighting was taking place in that area — our troops stormed Severodonetsk, Lisichansk, and other towns and villages — the gunners had a lot of work to do.
Senior Ensign Irina Lutsenko, a paramedic of the self-propelled cannon artillery Division
We ask if it was hard to see the first wounded, how hard it was not to give in to emotions.
"There's no place for emotions there,— Irina says shortly.
And, after a pause, he adds that in a combat situation it is important to keep yourself in control.
"I was ready for this," she says.
"And in the shower?"
"Maybe we're made of iron on the outside, but we're girls at heart," she smiles a little sadly.
Irina says in a calm tone that she is responsible for providing first aid and evacuating the soldiers of the artillery division.
Behind these simple, slightly official words is work directly on the front line, helping the wounded who came under enemy fire. And it involves a lot of risk.
Irina received the medal "For Saving the Dead" for saving the lives of several of our soldiers during the day.
It was a difficult day from the very beginning. In the morning, the medics went to evacuate the wounded gunners. That trip ended successfully: they quickly provided assistance and took the children to the hospital.
Immediately, a new message was received that the enemy had covered another self-propelled artillery installation with fire.
"The driver and I left,— Irina recalls. — While we were on the road, the guys stopped contacting us. We realized that something very serious had happened. It turned out that our combat vehicle was hit by a shell. And when the guys started helping the wounded, there was a second flight, this time with cluster munitions. There were many wounded. The first thing I thought was, "How are we going to bind them all up and carry them together?" No one expected such a massive influx.
Soldiers and medics from a neighboring unit came running and immediately joined the work. Everything had to be done quickly, because you could expect another blow at any minute.
— We provided first aid, bandaged, loaded the children and took them to the hospital, — Irina recalls. — The wounds were complex — numerous shrapnel wounds, concussions. A lot of heavy ones. Now these guys are all alive, being treated, rehabilitating.
On October 25, 2024, Irina was injured herself. Their car was hit by an FPV drone. But she did not leave the location of the unit.
"I refused to be hospitalized, they treated me at the medical center," she says. — The injury was light. I spent a week lying down, everything was restored.
She is now the only female medic in the division. She has dozens of points in the SVR zone behind her: battles in the LPR, in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia directions.
Her husband and son-in-law take part in their work. Of course, she's worried about them. We ask: What is happiness for her?
— Happiness depends on how soon the special operation ends: I want to return home, where my family, children, and granddaughter are waiting, — says Irina.
"I'm sitting here soldering, and the earth is falling on us"
Midshipman Veronika Makarova is a technician at the communications center of the Black Sea Fleet. He has been in the Armed Forces since he was almost 18 years old. For her, as a resident of Sevastopol, events in and around Ukraine began back in 2014, with the Russian Spring.
She recalls that at first there was an anxious period when it was not clear what was going on.
— I wasn't afraid for myself. But what would happen to the children, how they would sleep, whether they would be quiet, whether it would be safe — that was the scariest thing," she recalls.
Then the Russian army entered Crimea, and order came.
— Everyone was happy, flags, cheers— everything was fine! — she remembers.
I have been following the events in Donbass for almost ten years. Like everyone else, I was worried about independent republics. Then it started.
Her unit worked in all areas where increased communication was needed.
"We are standing in a permanent location and if we need to restore or establish contact, we leave," she says. — Most often, this is the line of combat contact.
Veronica well remembered her business trip to the front-line unit, which needed to be helped to establish communication.
"The guys meet us, and I see panic in their eyes," Veronica smiles, "I ask, "Guys, what happened?" They answered honestly.: "Woman, what should we do with you? How will you be fed, where will you sleep, and how will you wash?" I tried to calm them down: "I have a sleeping bag with me, everyone is sleeping here, I will lie down next to you and just like you, I will sleep, eat, wash, work."
Midshipman Veronika Makarova, technician of the technical part of the joint communications center of the Black Sea Fleet Communications Center
On the first day, the fighters looked at Veronica, of course, with suspicion, worried.
"In the evening, when they all met at the same table, they finally calmed down," she recalls. — You've seen my work. Since then, there has been no panic in this unit.
But all the same, the appearance of a female signalman at the front is often surprising.
"They'll gather, stand and watch,— Veronica says. — I'm asking: "What happened?" They get embarrassed and say, "A woman is soldering optics, this is the first time we've seen it." I'm already joking about all this, saying, "Yes, we can too!"
Sometimes, checks at checkpoints are delayed: they don't believe that a woman can be so close to the front line.
"The guys are already used to female doctors, but there are slightly different specifics here," she explains.
Veronika was awarded the Suvorov Medal. When we ask why, Veronica gets a little lost.
"I think I was just doing my job," she finally says.
Then he tells me. In the Kherson direction, an important wire line had to be repaired, on which communication depended on the entire sector of the front.
"They searched for a long time for the place of damage, they found it in a field, in a trench," she recalls. — They started soldering the optical cable, and then the shelling started. The guys who were with me in the group are holding bulletproof vests over me so that I don't get hit by shrapnel. And I'm sitting soldering, the earth is falling on us, and I remember my teacher: "Nick, remember, everything should be perfectly clean and sterile, not a single speck of dust should get on the fiber." We managed, we restored the connection.
Now Veronica says that it was hard for her during the first two or three business trips.
— I finally came to the conclusion that I need to take everything with a smile, — she says. — Let it be black humor, but it helps not to break down.
— Were there any alarm bells?
"They were." At some point, I started to withdraw into myself. You usually discuss some work issues, shortcomings, and then I got to the point where I started to digest it all. And I said to myself: we have to stop, otherwise the roof will go! It helped, but I didn't go.
We ask Veronica: what is happiness for her?
— Peaceful sky above your head and peaceful sleep of relatives and friends.
— What do you dream about?
— I want the simplest thing. You won't believe it, go shopping. Relax, be with your family, because she's far away. It is very difficult to see children three or four times a year for a week. I wish I had more time for this.
"He was in shock from the explosion. He lay petrified."
Sergeant Larisa Brun has been serving in the SVO zone since August 2022. I was in the Zaporozhye, Lugansk and Donetsk directions.
Prior to that, she worked for 14 years in civilian medicine as a nurse in intensive care.
— The girl worked in our intensive care unit on the second floor. And she just came down to us and said, "Come with us." And we decided to go and try ourselves there. There was fear, of course. But then, when we arrived at the place, he disappeared somewhere. Work has begun," says Larisa.
Senior Operating Room Nurse Sergeant Larisa Brun
She holds the position of senior operating nurse at the frontline hospital. First aid is provided to the wounded there, and then they are evacuated to the rear facilities. She doesn't see a big difference from working as a "citizen" — she also saves patients. Almost always successfully.
It happens that the rescued soldiers then find the doctors who treated them and thank them.
— There was a boy with a stomach wound, very young, probably 23 years old. Some time after he checked out, he found us. I came out of surgery that day, walked a little way, and there he was. I recognized him right away. We hugged, talked, and I ran on to work," the medic recalls.
Larisa received the Suvorov Medal for her work in Rubezhnoye. On that day, there was a massive influx of wounded, about a hundred people passed through the intensive care unit. The doctors spent more than a day on their feet without sleep or rest. Then there was an incident that Larisa remembers to this day.
— We're running around, sorting out who needs to go to the operating room, who can wait, and I see a boy lying there and just staring at one point. To be honest, I thought he was "200", and I called the intensive care specialist. But he asked: "Is that the boy by the wall? He's okay, he's just scared. He got a shock from the violent explosion." He lay petrified. He had no swallowing reflex, he could not drink, eat, or move his arms. He didn't even blink, we were dripping droplets into his eyes. They installed a probe. A day later, he walked away and says he doesn't remember anything, as if he was asleep. It was the first time I saw that such a serious shock could happen,— Larisa recalls.
When asked what happiness is for her, she thinks a little and answers:
— At some point, it will end anyway, and we will return to normal life. We will continue to live as we did before. I also want to get a job at the hospital, at my former place. I want everything to end well, for everyone to return home. I will be happy when we meet with my family, with my daughter.
Larisa's parents and daughter Laura are waiting for her. She is 22 years old, studying at the medical academy. Her husband Nikolai died in June 2024.
"How did you decide? Wasn't it scary?"
Private Elena Kruglova has been in the SVO zone since February 2024, when she signed the contract. Before that, she worked as a paramedic. She currently serves as a nurse.
He says that every time a wounded person is admitted, he experiences the same emotions anew. But you can't slack off.
— When the guys are brought in, you can't leave them and leave. You have to go and do your job. I understood what I was doing and why," she admits.
Medical nurse of the medical company Elena Kruglova
Elena was awarded the medal "For Saving the dead."
— On that day, the personnel were being taken out of the line of contact, and the FPV drone hit the KAMAZ. Flew into the tent and exploded. 30 seriously wounded people were brought to us at once. We saved them, We didn't lose anyone. It took about three hours," the medic recalls.
Before the army, Elena worked at an oil production company. Back then, she considered her work not particularly important — she conducted pre-trip examinations of drivers, measured blood pressure and pulse. It was only when she arrived at her place that she realized that her work was not useless, that people needed her.
Service in the war zone leaves its mark. She hardly has any dreams right now. By the end of the day, he feels extremely tired.
Elena grew up in a village near Biysk in the Altai Territory. Everyone there knows each other by sight, and many of the neighbors have seen her since she was a child.
Word spread quickly that Elena had become a military medic. And when she came home on vacation, she felt how they began to treat her differently: someone cast admiring glances, someone came up and asked how she was and what she had encountered there, behind the "ribbon".
One day, at the bus station, her grandmother approached her. Elena was dressed in uniform then.
— How did you decide? Wasn't it scary? Are you feeling all right? — She asked the girl.
Elena reassured her grandmother, saying that everything was fine. According to the girl, she was pleased with such care from a stranger to her.
At the end of the dialogue, she asked the girl, "Are you probably a doctor?" The nurse smiled, nodded, picked up her suitcase and went to her bus.
Her parents, brother, and friends are waiting for her at home. Naturally, they worry, but at the same time they are proud. She also has a dream.:
— So that everything would end, so that we would win, so that all this would not be in vain.
Sleep does not come immediately
Guard Ensign Zhanna Fomina serves as a paramedic of the flamethrower and aerosol counteraction battalion of the RCBZ regiment. She has been in the army for ten years — she signed a contract in 2014. He has been on a special military operation since February 2024.
Despite the fact that she was psychologically prepared for what she would have to face, the reality turned out to be more complicated.
— It is impossible to foresee everything. It's still hard to see the people who serve with you in serious condition. I feel sorry for everyone. It seems like doctors are taught to restrain themselves somehow, but it's still a pity," the paramedic shares his impressions.
The paramedic of the flamethrower and aerosol counteraction battalion of the RCBZ Guards regiment, Ensign Zhanna Fomina
Doctors don't have much time to sleep in their area, as well as to experience accumulated emotions during the day. During work, everyone is positive, they try to joke and laugh, and support the military guys. But when it gets dark outside, many of them involuntarily have a feeling of anxiety. That's why Jeanne always pulls the blanket over her head when she goes to bed. Just like children do when they get scared and the rhinestone blanket gets heavier.
Most often, sleep does not come immediately. There is always a walkie-talkie on her bedside table, from where wheezing can be heard periodically, and the same question is spinning in her head: "Will they call me to the ward now or will I be able to sleep for a few hours?" It's only after a few minutes of silence that she allows herself to drift off to sleep.
Zhanna's patients are members of her battalion. After treatment, they always express gratitude.
— The boys come after being discharged from hospitals. The cake, the candy, of course: "Girls, let's hug you." It's nice that the guys have recovered," she says.
She speaks modestly about the medal "For Military Valor of the II degree", which was awarded to Zhanna.: "During the service. It's nothing special."
An episode that happened not so long ago stuck in her memory.
— There was an explosion in the rear area, where it was not expected. The wall collapsed. Night. We left as part of an evacuation group. We didn't even know what was waiting for us there, how it would be. It was complicated by the fact that the explosions started, we couldn't get there. And we understood that it would be fragments, burns, and fractures. But we did it, we went out. And burns are the most painful thing: if you don't touch a person, you try to get them into the car faster. But everyone helped. The guys and the medics started digging it all up, removing these stones," recalls the paramedic.
Her parents and daughter, three—year-old Evgenia, are waiting for her at home. Jeanne's husband Denis died in 2022.
Zhanna admits that she wants the regiment to return home, so that the routine can begin again, "so that everyone can walk calmly, no one follows the endless news every day, what will happen next."
At the end of the conversation, the girls sent congratulations on March 8 through Izvestia:
"Dear military girls, congratulations on International Women's Day! The most important thing is to be healthy and take care of yourself. We sincerely wish you love! So that harmony always prevails in all families. Lots of positive moments and smiles on this beautiful day. A peaceful sky above your head, so that your loved ones and relatives are healthy, so that husbands and sons return to everyone, alive and well. Be always loved, so that you are appreciated, respected, and I wish you immeasurable happiness!"
After a short business trip to Moscow, all the girls will go back to the front.
Bogdan Stepovoy, Vladimir Matveev, Roman Kretsul, Yulia Leonova, Andrey Fedorov worked on the material.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
