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Mariupol has been bombed by troops since the beginning of March 2022. There are still imprisoned civilians in the city and services that help the wounded and dying. One of them was Anton Hrytsunov, an anesthesiologist from a children’s hospital.
- From the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Anton Hrytsunov worked in a children’s hospital in Mariupol, and later in a military hospital
- In an interview for the Hromadske portal, he talked about patients who died during the operation due to lack of oxygen and about children who did not make it to the hospital
- After a few weeks of work, he was transferred to the Azovstal metallurgical plant. From there he managed to get to his family home, later he left the city
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
— When the war started, I worked in my hospital for three more days. Then I was offered to move to a military hospital, because there was a shortage of anesthesiologists, and they brought both military and civilians, even children. I worked there for three weeks until they bombed us — he reported in an interview with the Hromadske portal after leaving the city.
“We could have saved them, but because of the air raid they died”
— The s not only dropped bombs on us, but also mines. On one occasion they were hit by the resuscitation ward, it collapsed into the basement. We started placing patients in the surviving part of the basement — told the 29-year-old medic.
In an interview with the portal, Grycunov recalled the most memorable cases: — Among the patients was a mother of two children whose leg was amputated above the knee. She was injured in the bombing when she came out of hiding to prepare the children something to eat.
— They brought children to us who did not survive, they simply did not make it to the hospital. The hardest part was working with the children and then going out to tell their parents that their child had died — said the anesthesiologist.
According to Hrycunov’s memoirs, one day the hospital ran out of electricity, so the patients stopped receiving oxygen. — Many people died on the operating tables that day. We could save them, but because of the air raid they died — stressed the doctor.
After another weeks, Grycunov was transferred to the Azovstal plant, currently blocked and bombed by the forces. He was offered to join the medical staff. Grycunov refused, fearing that he might not get out of the plant. He chose to exercise his right of refusal as a civilian. He decided to get out of the city where the attacks continued and the risk of an epidemic was growing.
He struggled through ruined Mariupol for three days. «There were tank fights there»
Getting out of Azovstal was not easy, however. Together with an acquaintance, a military doctor, they made their way to another district of the city for three days. — There were tank fights there, we had to hide. We saw torn bodies on the road, anti-tank mines. 800 m from us, the s shot a passenger car with civilians — said the medic.
They were repeatedly detained by soldiers and documented checks. Grycunov underwent an additional personal inspection, because the soldiers looked for signs of a bulletproof vest or tattoos.
He managed to reach his family home, where he hid with his parents for another month. They had food, but they had to go to the river for drinking water. The doctor later recalled that it had a “salty taste”. He managed to arrange transport for his parents and evacuate them from the city. Then, together with a friend, he ran away on bicycles across the fields. They wanted to avoid further checks: — If they saw my social networks, if they found out that my friend is military, we would never get out — he said.