Embed

Dr Donbass: Behind the frontline

Heroic routine of Donbass medical units

The doctors of Donbass, who work close to the frontline, treat injured soldiers from both sides and civilians who came under the shelling, and they never judge. Some may say they are like angels in purgatory deciding the fate of those who entered it. But in reality, they are just vulnerable humans who are just as scared of the gunfire, constantly worried about their loved ones, and attend to patients with little to no resources. But they manage to brave all the hardships and save lives no matter what.

Alinat is a doctor in the medical unit. She was born in Mariupol and studied at a medical university in Donetsk. After completing her residency in cardiovascular surgery in Moscow, she returned to Donbass to work and help. She and her family didn’t support the government coup and have always been pro-Russian. So when Ukrainian tanks came, they only made things clearer, 'There was aggression from the other side, and we had to defend ourselves, that’s how it was. They came to us with tanks. We had nothing. There was a checkpoint nearby; there were guys there with only a couple of rifles. And they came to us with tanks; they were shooting at us from tanks. We didn’t even think we could somehow be on the other side. After all, we are closer to Russia,' recalls Alinat.

Now Alinat, as well as other doctors, are helping out as she attends to the injured soldiers and civilians. She admits working so close to the frontline can become scary, and shells may come from anywhere, but she knows she’s a doctor, and her skills are needed, so she has to stay strong for the people, 'Sitting there and waiting, worrying every day, well, it’s hard. And I can do something; I am a doctor, after all.'

Learn more inspiring stories about the Donbass doctors’ heroic routine in the Dr Donbass: Behind the frontline documentary

Subscribe to get stories the mainstream media ignores: Subscribe RTD's Youtube

WATCH TRAILER
Please rate this film

2.16(246 users)

Published: 18 July 2022 12:00

Duration

25:53

Tags
Watch this film in Russian

don't miss

26:33
Health 13 July 2022 12:00

Dr Donbass: Living on the edge . Medics save lives under shelling

26:33
Human Rights 24 May 2023 12:00

Tanks for Kidneys. Investigating cases of organ trafficking in Ukraine

26:33
Military and War 04 March 2015 00:00

Trauma. Paramedics risk their lives to save injured civilians in Donetsk, Ukraine

26:33
Professions 23 February 2014 00:00

Sky Rescue. A week with an air ambulance crew in Russia’s Far North

26:33
Health 03 August 2016 00:00

Last Wishes. Dutch volunteers challenge death by realising last wishes for dying people

26:33
Military and War 22 April 2022 12:56

Donbass Under Fire. Life in the Donetsk Republic under bombs

26:33
Military and War 03 June 2022 12:00

Foreign Fighters of Donbass. Foreign volunteers against Ukrainian neo-Nazism

26:33
Arts and Culture 26 August 2022 12:00

Poets on the Frontline. Voices of the Donbass art scene

26:33
Society 13 March 2023 12:00

Volunteers for Victory. Russian 'men-on-the-street' join fight against Ukrainian nationalists

26:33
Military and War 17 April 2023 12:00

'Vostok' Battalion Brotherhood . For nine years soldiers defend their homeland: story from the frontlines

26:33
Military and War 05 May 2023 12:00

Heroes of Donbass. Battalion Commander. An ex-businessman’s rise from a private to a respected leader

26:33
Military and War 09 February 2024 12:00

Donbass: The Flipside of War. Volunteers locate, identify, and inter the civilians' bodies in Donbass

26:33
Lifestyle 04 December 2023 12:00

Way of the War Reporter. Survival guide from veteran war correspondents

26:33
Military and War 19 January 2024 12:00

An Officer’s Star. How two Donbass heroes fell in love amid shelling

26:33
Society 20 May 2022 12:00

VolunTears . Volunteers deliver humanitarian aid to Donbass

26:33
Military and War 27 June 2022 13:00

Lugansk: Road to Independence 2022-2014. The Lugansk People’s Republic living through the Donbass war

26:33
Military and War 09 March 2022 14:29

Donbass: Battle of Debaltsevo. Defending the strategic point

26:33
Military and War 26 January 2024 11:59

I’m a Hero, Mum. "Mum, I'm a scout!" — the story of a hero who fell fighting for Mariupol

26:33
Professions 01 March 2024 12:00

War Correspondents–3: He prays in God's language. A Russian-Syrian’s exceptional reporting from the frontlines of the Special Military Operation

26:33
Professions 15 December 2017 00:00

Saviour St. Young paramedics brave El Salvador gang violence to save lives

VIEWER’S CHOICE: 1,000,000 VIEWS AND MORE

VIEW ALL