"Miracles happen to us every day"
Carrying the wounded through a half—frozen swamp under fire, holding the hand of a weakened soldier so that he does not lose consciousness, and performing real miracles at the operating table - all this is being done by female servicemen today. On the eve of March 8, Izvestia correspondents talked with the participants of the special operation about combat work, fear, saved lives and the most important thing — about the Motherland.
"The best thing to do is to save a life"
Darya Bayinova was walking through the city when an unknown fighter ran up to her, grabbed her in his arms and began to cry. A tall, burly man literally lifted her into his arms.
Paramedic, warrant Officer Dari Bayinova during an interview with Izvestia Medical Center
"Are you alive?" He looked into her eyes, not shy about his tears.
— Of course!
— And they told me that you have been gone for a long time.
It took her a moment to remember him: hundreds of wounded people had passed through her hands. Ensign Bayinova is a paramedic of the receiving and sorting platoon of a medical company of a tank regiment. The wounded are brought to their point from the front line. Her task is to provide first aid, stabilize the condition and prepare for evacuation to the hospital.
The main work begins in the evening, "in gray", at dusk. At this time, it is easier to get to the evacuation point and avoid being hit by drones.
— You look not only at the wounds, but also into the eyes. If you see that a person is detached, you start joking — and he comes back, clings to the conversation," she says. — It is very important that a fighter thinks not only about pain, but about life.
Sometimes fighters are delivered in a state of clinical death.
"We're rocking him,— Darya says. — The hands themselves know what to do. And you keep repeating to yourself: "Please start breathing. Beat it, little heart."
She pauses a little and adds that at such moments she is ready to give up a few days of her life for the sake of a wounded guy.
Doctors fight to the end and, as a rule, win their personal battle with death. Darya already knows when she will start to retreat.
— Right before my eyes, my complexion is changing: it starts to turn pink. It's nice to look at it. Do you understand that we did something like that?… And you say to yourself: "Thank you, Lord!" — Darya finally begins to smile.
Then there are ivs, medications, and resuscitation procedures. Everything is fast and clear. But inside, there is already a different state — as if you yourself are rising together with the one you saved.
"The best thing to do is to save a person," she says softly.
Darya talks about a paratrooper doctor she managed to work with, who pulled many fighters out of the dead and taught her to always say "thank you" and face any difficulties with a smile. That's what she does.
The ensign was a celebrity in her field, although she didn't even know it for a long time. She just always smiled and waved at oncoming military vehicles and soldiers at checkpoints. Now she is recognized not only in the free zone.
- Now the guys are meeting me on the "mainland" and asking: "You were the one who accompanied the fighters to the LPR on the medevac, weren't you? You left, and we got bored without you, the girls stopped waving and smiling at us!" says Darya.
Darya is sure that she will continue to serve. Two sons, Vyacheslav and Bulat, and her mother are waiting for her at home. At the service, she is accompanied by a talisman — a rosary of white pearls.
"I'm needed here,— she says simply.
Congratulations from Darya Bayinova:
Dear girls, congratulations to everyone on March 8th! I wish you good health and lots and lots of good moments in your life. I wish you a kind heart, friends, a good environment and a peaceful sky above your head!
"They take your hand and are afraid to let it go"
During the offensive, the wounded soldiers had to be evacuated through swamps, the depth of which reached 3 m. The medics were given several soldiers to build a crossing. The fighters built rafts, and a rope was thrown across the swamp, with which it was possible to carry watercraft from one shore to the other.
Paramedic, foreman Ekaterina Tkachenko during an interview with Izvestia Medical Center
Ekaterina Tkachenko, a paramedic from the assault company of a separate motorized rifle brigade, was among the first to cross the swamp.
— It was December, the water was covered with ice. The enemy started artillery and mortar fire," she recalls.
The first wounded were already lying by the shore. Ekaterina immediately began to provide assistance.
"There was no fear, there was adrenaline," she says. — When a person's life is at stake, you forget about yourself.
An examination, an assessment of the severity, a dressing, an injection of painkillers — and then on to the rafts.
"The wounded should be greeted with a smile, they immediately feel better," explains Ekaterina.
Then the soldiers were loaded onto stretchers, carried to the rafts and sailed through the swamps.
— Many people take your hand and are afraid to let it go. Sometimes they grab you so hard that your palm goes numb, but you endure it.: It's important, it's support," Ekaterina recalls.
The enemy intensified the fire — the swamp and its surroundings turned into a branch of hell.
— Four full packages of Grad were released for us. 160 rockets," says Ekaterina.
All the wounded were ferried to our shore and transferred to a dugout, then evacuated to the rear.
"We couldn't give up and leave our own people," she explains.
In the battalion where Ekaterina serves, they stand for each other to the end.
— We have one big family. There are no old or new ones, we always help each other, otherwise it's just impossible," says the paramedic.
That day, the medics pulled everyone out. We haven't lost a single one.
Congratulations from Ekaterina Tkachenko:
Dear girls and women! Congratulations on International Women's Day! I wish you a peaceful sky over your head! So that everything is over and everyone returns to their home with a holiday!
"Our guys behave with dignity even in the most difficult situations"
Prior to her graduation, Maria Sergeeva worked for a large IT company in Moscow. But with the beginning of the special operation, I realized that I could not stay away — I became a volunteer, helped evacuate civilians from the Kharkiv region.
Senior mechanic, Corporal Maria Sergeeva during an interview with Izvestia
"People were leaving their homes in a hurry," she recalls. — There was a case when women with children were just running through the fields.
Then the refugees were handed over to volunteers, who fed them, helped them find clothes, and settled in temporary accommodation.
What was happening affected her so much that Maria decided to join the army. Now she is a corporal, a senior mechanic at a radio relay station.
The girl was awarded the St. George's Cross for saving people during the evacuation.
"We have received information that doctors, the sick, and the elderly cannot leave the city — up to 150 people in total," she recalls.
The settlement was heavily shelled by that time. It was known that a large family with eight children remained in one of the quarters. It was possible to get to them only on the fourth attempt.
"We've been waiting a long time for the right moment,— says Maria. — Finally, the artillery worked out, and during this interval we went to them. There was a big threat of FPV drone attacks, but fortunately they did not appear. Anyway, with God's help, they were evacuated.
She firmly believes that all our guys on the front line are heroes.
— I saw with my own eyes how they behave with dignity in the most difficult situations, — says Maria.
At the front, signalmen have one of the most important roles, a lot depends on them.
"We try to keep the connection running smoothly, and that's how it works," she says. — When the Starlinks were turned off, it didn't become a problem for us, because we had a stable connection.
Maria also decided to link her future with the army. In Moscow, she visited friends at work.
"It's boring in the office, I'm already used to something else," she recalls.
Maria's daughter Elena, three brothers and a sister are waiting for her at home.
Congratulations from Maria Sergeeva:
Girls, starting March 8th! I wish you to be harmonious, to love, to appreciate yourself! I want everyone at home to feel that there is tenderness, love and harmony next to them. In particular, congratulations to all the military girls. Don't forget that we serve the Motherland, support our guys!
"I'm not a princess on a pea"
Yana Verveina went to the special operation zone at the age of 23, already as a lieutenant. Now she is the commander of a communications center platoon in the famous 331st Guards Parachute Regiment.
Platoon commander, Guards Senior Lieutenant Yana Verveina during an interview with Izvestia News Agency
Back then, at the beginning of her unit, she took up her position during the day. The enemy was harassing the area. Yana is well-versed, and it came as an unpleasant surprise that the intricacy of trenches and dugouts would initially become a real maze for her. Night had fallen.
"It was scary to even light a flashlight,— the girl recalls. — I got lost and accidentally went into someone else's bunker to the paratroopers with the question: "Excuse me, but where am I?"
But the guys understood everything — they were escorted to the dugout without any ridicule. Then, of course, she got used to it.
The main task of her platoon is to ensure uninterrupted communication in the regiment. The work of the node depends on the teams, the management of units, and the coordination of combat missions.
Yana lived in a separate small dugout with a female volunteer. This earthen house has become almost familiar: colleagues helped to make it cozy, found soft mattresses, ensured the operation of the diesel unit.
— In winter, the fuel sometimes ran out, and at night you could wake up from the cold, but you get used to it, — she says. — The mice that unceremoniously encroach on the cherished chocolate bar are no longer afraid.
She is currently serving in Russia. There are 13 men in the platoon, most of them are women. But there are also men. Skepticism about the "girl at the helm" is still found, but the senior lieutenant has learned to hold her own.
"Sometimes I want to respond harshly," she admits. "But I'm just standing my ground. If I'm confident in the task, I'll do it. My point of view has a right to exist, and the fact that I'm here has to be taken into account.
My father, grandfather, and uncle are all military men. As a little girl, she went to the military unit with her dad, and instead of dolls, she chose the company of boys and sports.
"Thanks to Dad, I'm not a princess on a pea," says Yana. — Yes, everyone has weaknesses, but his upbringing helps him pull himself together in time.
Despite his fighting spirit and gold medals in athletics, the decision to join the army after school was not an easy one. The choice fell on the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne School named after V.F. Margelov.
Congratulations from Yana Verveina:
On this bright spring holiday, I congratulate my closest ones: my mother, grandmother and my coach! Special thanks to the teachers of Kostroma State University and, of course, to my colleagues: the women of our regiment and the entire division! I hug my friends and all the women of Russia with great love. Bloom, shine and never give up on your dreams. May there be as many reasons to smile as possible on your way!
"It's scary to wake up, but there is no homeland"
Modern warfare dictates its own rules — field hospitals are now hidden underground.
Commander, Lieutenant Elena Sycheva during an interview with the Izvestia News Center
"They are maximally protected from scanning by thermal imagers and hidden from the enemy's eyes," says Lieutenant Elena Sycheva, commander of the ambulance platoon. — These are full-fledged underground complexes with a reception and sorting department, diagnostics and intensive care.
Elena now runs a hospital for the lightly wounded with 150 beds. Her task is to quickly get the fighter back on his feet so that he can return to the ranks.
One of the most dangerous areas of work for Elena's platoon is evacuation from bare areas where every step is shot through. This is where NRTK ground—based robotic systems come to the aid of doctors.
— We are actively implementing unmanned drones for the removal of the wounded. This allows you not to risk the lives of orderlies in hard—to-reach places," says the girl.
Operating room work requires exquisite precision and nerves of steel.
"Miracles happen every day," Elena smiles. — A fighter with a severe chest wound was recently rescued. The splinter hit the lung, it was literally soaked in blood, like a sponge. The clock was ticking. Our specialists performed the most difficult operation right in the field, and a day later the guy was transferred from the intensive care unit. He will live a full life.
When asked about the role of women in a war zone, Elena simply answers: "We are a reminder of a home for fighters."
Elena received her injuries during the rescue of the fighters.
"The first time we came under artillery fire was when we were taking the guys out by car," the lieutenant recalls. — The second time everything happened during the evacuation to the shelter. A heavy fire started, and we literally dragged the wounded into the basement to hide them. In that commotion, I fell, hit the rebar hard, and was injured. But you don't feel any pain at such moments. There is only one task in my head: to deliver, to save, to make it.
Later, already in the hospital, fate again brought together those whom she brought out from under fire. The soldiers recognized her in the wards: "You were driving us!"
"It's scary to wake up, but there's no homeland," Elena says goodbye. And with everything else, she is sure, we will definitely cope.
Two daughters, Daria and Polina, are waiting for Elena at home. And Artyom's son, who turned 22, joined the army after university and is now not far from his mother, on the front line.
Congratulations from Elena Sycheva:
For me, March 8th is a real women's day! Sometimes people congratulate us on February 23, saying that we are also defenders of the Fatherland, but we are still women and we want to hear warm words on this particular spring day. Girls, may you be given mimosas and smiles on this day, may there be people around who appreciate and take care of you!
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
