“The day I learned that Ukrainian medics sometimes have to let people die.

I was helping to teach a class on casualty care to Ukrainian medics. I drew up a scenario on the white board and asked them what they would do. A casualty is 100 meters from them in a big field and under fire. They actually have to let people die if it comes down to it.

Imagine a big open field with both sides shooting at each other with artillery and snipers. One of the infantry guys gets shot. Their standard procedure is that the soldier should patch himself up and wait until the fight is over if they can’t reach him. If Russians zeroed on a guy they hit, the worry is they would shoot the next guy going to help them.

I asked them, ‘Have you let men die?’

They didn’t say anything but you could just see it on their faces. They just didn’t know how to reach those casualties. I told them about all the assets we had in Afghanistan. Convoys of vehicles, air support, artillery, superior firepower.

I felt for those guys. They didn’t have those assets most of the time and on top of it they had to fight against artillery and Russian snipers. I never fought against that in Afghanistan. I just felt so bad for them that they had to experience this.

They had to let their own guys die. Not because they were cowards. They just couldn’t get to them.

– “Texas Corpsman” Western Volunteer. Invasion of Ukraine. June, 26th, 2022

Documented by Battles and Beers