5:39 p.m. ET, February 24, 2024
Dnipro hospital treats gravely injured soldiers from eastern front
In the past two years, about 28,000 frontline soldiers have been brought to Mechnikov Hospital in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, hospital director Serhiy Ryzhenko tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
Now, 50 to 100 patients from around the town of Avdiivka in the eastern Donetsk region arrive every day in "very serious" condition, according to Ryzhenko. Last week, Ukraine announced the withdrawal of its forces
from Avdiivka, which in recent months became one of the most fiercely contested battles on the eastern front.
There is a 95% survival rate in the hospital's operating rooms — which conduct surgeries nonstop — as years of war in eastern Ukraine has led to improved combat surgery techniques, Ryzhenko added.
A wounded army sergeant, Vasily, recently had surgery that left him without three of his limbs.
He says there are not enough troops or ammunition on the ground, but resolve is still strong.
"We're on our own lands," he says. "We fight to the last and do not give up. If they get past us, our families will be next. We have no right to lose."
He says despite his lost limbs, he is eager to get back to the eastern front, to possibly be a trainer for others.
Watch Amanpour's report from Dnipro: