Over the past two years operating along the Ukrainian front line, Khrystyna Drahomaretska has gained a veteran's understanding of the battle tactics employed by the invading Russian troops.
During the day, the 27-year-old explains, they will freely dispatch cheap kamikaze drones to kill anyone on sight. At night, however, the high-value drones equipped with hi-tech sensors are used more sparingly to target vehicles instead.
That was the calculation she made two weeks ago while conducting a daring night-time rescue operation a few hundred metres from the Russian positions near the city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region where Putin’s forces are currently pushing towards.
Mindful of the night vision drones, she ditched her van and crept towards her target on foot. But the enemy started firing anyway, with more than a dozen missiles launched towards her position. Hiding behind a copse of trees, one exploded nearby sending a knuckle-sized piece of shrapnel searing straight through her leg.
Khrystyna applied a tourniquet and was taken to a nearby army base before being transported back to a hospital in Kharkiv where thankfully she was told the damage was just muscle and tissue. “The doctors told me I should spend one month in hospital on a bed but I said that’s impossible,” Khrystyna says. In the end, she discharged herself after two days; her mission was too vital for her to rest.
That mission is not some clandestine military operation, but rescuing and treating pets. Khrystyna is part of a network of civilian volunteers risking life and limb to combat one of the lesser-known catastrophes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but one that is rapidly mushrooming into a public health crisis that could cross borders.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 02, 2024 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 02, 2024 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Draper puts health first in his bid to break the top 10
Brit No 1 managing hip problem ahead of Australian Open
Arteta needs a 'can opener' to cure misfiring Gunners
Mikel Arteta is aware that Arsenal need more “explosiveness” in attack, and his staff are looking to rectify this in the January transfer window, although much of this would have been clear to see before Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle United.
Hammers seek Potter magic after Lopetegui exit farce
Farewell, Julen Lopetegui. You leave West Ham as you arrived: unwanted by fans, and even by technical director Tim Steidten, it seems.
Spurs subdue Liverpool and dream of Wembley
It’s a bit premature to say this was a night when Tottenham Hotspur’s young team came of age, but this 1-0 victory over Liverpool was an impressive show of maturity when they most needed it. An 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall appropriately settled it, crowning the fine work of fellow teenager Archie Gray.
FTSE 250 and pound slump as UK gilt yields hit a high
London’s stock markets faltered yesterday, with the FTSE 250 slumping to a five-month low and the pound weakening as UK long-term borrowing costs continued to spike.
Bodies of father and son hostages recovered in Gaza
The bodies of two Israeli hostages have been recovered by troops in Gaza, Israel’s defence minister said yesterday.
French minister tells Trump Europe will protect borders
France’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has fiercely defended the European Union in response to US president-elect Donald Trump’s claim that America should take ownership and control of Greenland”.
'I did my best to prevent it'
Mother of 14-year-old stabbing victim Kelyan Bokassa tells Barney Davis her heart skipped’ every time her son went out
Brexiteers left infuriated by PM's Foreign Office choice
The appointment of Theresa May’s former chief negotiator with the European Union as the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office (FCDO) by Sir Keir Starmer is being seen as a statement of intent in his determination to reset relations with the EU.
Corbyn attacks Starmer on private sector's role in NHS
Jeremy Corbyn has accused Sir Keir Starmer of betraying” the health service by introducing a much greater role for the private sector, which he warns will hollow out the NHS.