Inside a hospital treating waves of Ukrainian soldiers since their counter-offensive began

For surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital in eastern Ukraine, every wound inspected on the operating table is a raw and unvarnished account of the brutality of the fight Ukrainian soldiers face in combat: constant bombardment, hidden mines, and cunning snipers.

Chief Doctor Serhii Ryzhenko with a wounded Ukrainian soldier. Picture: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka

The horrors of war arrive through the night at a hospital in eastern Ukraine, a procession of stretchers bearing limp bodies whisked from the front line.

The soldiers come with bandaged limbs soaked in blood, faces blackened with shrapnel fragments and stunned eyes fixed on the ceiling, frozen in shock. Lately, they’ve been coming with ever-greater frequency.