#Soldier poet king full

Having witnessed his student save the lives of countless soldiers over the last eight years, Serhii’s most cherished memory of Ihor is a single WhatsApp message. “When the full-scale invasion started on February 24, he sacrificed his life for other people, for his country,” Serhii, his mentor and trainer, told the Telegraph after the funeral service. When he first signed up as a volunteer during the 2014 Donbas war, Ihor turned down a safe job as a press officer to become a medic, wanting to be useful on the frontlines and not in an office.

He would often greet new friends with a poem rather than a customary hello. Not your average soldier, the 29-year-old was an accomplished poet and published novelist with a passion for travel. Ihor, known affectionately by his call sign “Poet”, embodied that very image, his comrades said as he was laid to rest at the famous Baikove cemetery just outside Kyiv’s city centre last week.

#Soldier poet king full

They are considered amongst the most selfless servicemen of Ukraine’s armed forces, often running into danger with nothing more than a tourniquet and a bag full of bandages. “It’s what they are desperate for at the moment, they really need them.” “Combat medics are what they need,” a military source told the Telegraph. With 12 specially prepared brigades, the majority of which were armed and trained by Nato countries, the Ukrainian counter-offensive is expected to be bloodier than any battles that have come before. While casualties were considered high, around 90 per cent of them were saved, according to internal figures circulated by Ukraine’s defence ministry.įirst come the well-trained, quick-thinking medics to stabilise patients before they are ferried by field ambulances to hospitals at the rear. With the long-awaited counter-offensive looming, military officials in Kyiv are scrambling to train up enough first aiders to sustain a prolonged effort to expel their Russian occupiers.įaced with well-positioned Russian artillery and defensive positions, the Ukrainians know militaries typically take more casualties while attacking.ĭuring some of the fiercest fighting during the battle for Kherson last year, more than 200 wounded troops suffered gunshot, shrapnel and landmine wounds every day.