From fire-engulfed Bakhmut on an armored personnel carrier: Vpered newspaper on evacuation of last female doctor from Bakhmut

Olena Molchanova, the last doctor who remained in Bakhmut, has left the city and is currently staying in Kyiv.

The story of how Olena survived in the city engulfed in hostilities is covered in a series of reports posted on the Vpered newspaper’s website (Bakhmut’s publication).

In recent months, the doctor received patients in a bomb shelter. One day, it became impossible to hold on, and she left her hometown at the beginning of May.

Vpered publishes an interview with Olena Molchanova about the events of the last weeks of her stay in Bakhmut.

– What exactly forced you to evacuate?

– Circumstances. A mighty assault began on Tchaikovskoho Street, where we were hiding in a bomb shelter. We were hiding at 26 [Tchaikovskoho Street. There were 20 civilians with me and a lot of wounded soldiers. In recent days, the people of Bakhmut practically did not come or ask for help. Everyone was sitting in basements 24/7. I didn’t venture outside, as I couldn’t take the risk. It’s possible to literally lose the head outside. Sitting in the basement day and night was hard for me. Different thoughts came, memories… Therefore, when I was needed and helped wounded soldiers and civilians, I was thrilled that I had such an honor to save people’s lives.

– Did you have anything to eat?

– They brought us good humanitarian aid. We drank and ate… But I didn’t really want to, to be honest. I will not tell you everything because it hurts. There was a generator in the shelter; the military had the Internet. The main thing was missing – silence…

– When did you leave the city?

– It was May 2. We survived a terrible shelling. The house was shot at by a tank. The premises of the dispensary and the library caught fire. The fire was so severe that it spread to the condominium building, where construction materials were stored. The smoke started to penetrate our shelter… By that time, my apartment was gone: a direct hit on the roof of the building. There was nowhere to hide… Then, I approached the military commander and told him I wanted to evacuate. To be honest, he was very happy. Said that I had five minutes to prepare and pack. I informed the people hiding with me and offered to come along. But only one woman from Bakhmut agreed. Twelve people: two women and ten men stayed.

– How were you evacuated?

– We were told to dash to Yuvileina Street, to the market. We were given four soldiers to accompany us. The doctor was very concerned about our possible coming into the line of sight of the snipers, so he gave me a blood-stopping agent and a blessing. And we ran… I had never run so fast! Thank God we were not wounded. An armored personnel carrier arrived, and we were loaded there and taken to Chasiv Yar. A military ambulance took us to Kostiantynivka. I immediately called my daughter and friends. My friends gave us an address in Kostiantynivka where we could rest. But it was too late. At that time, the curfew began. How to get to the address? And I called the Bakhmut rescuers. They helped! From Kostiantynivka, I reached Kyiv at four in the morning.

– Olena, what surprised you after leaving Bakhmut?

– Back in Kostiantynivka, I looked at the sky and stars. You understand, right? I was not able to do that in Bakhmut. I am surprised by the light in the windows of Ukrainians, the shops that work, and the variety of vegetables they have. The first thing I ate was shawarma, and drank mineral water. I really wanted to. I bought a lot of vegetables; I missed them.

– What are your plans for the future?

– I will work in Kyiv, in dispensary 11. Now the displaced people are waiting for me. I believe that our Victory is coming soon. I am very grateful to everyone who was in touch with me, who supported and waited.