Minnesota medical student returns from treating soldiers in Ukraine
3rd Assault Brigade in Ukraine.
Courtesy of Sergey Karachenets
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Audio transcript
INTERVIEWER: It looks like the Delta Amsterdam to MSP flight will land in about a half hour from now. On board is a University of Minnesota Medical School student, an EMT who has spent the last two months serving as a combat medic in the Ukrainian war. 24-year-old Sergey Karachenets had no military experience, but wanted to give back to the country where he was born. It's his third trip abroad during the war. The first two were to help refugees in Poland.
Most recently, Sergey worked alongside the group Road to Relief to directly help soldiers injured in the fight against the Russian aggression. He's coming back to Minnesota to prepare for fall classes. And as he got ready to leave, he spoke to me about what he's done in Ukraine and about his future. Sergey, thank you for taking the time.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Thanks for organizing all this. Thanks for sharing my story.
INTERVIEWER: Absolutely. So, you know, you could have stopped after the first couple of trips. What led you to go on a third trip to Ukraine?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Well, the war is not over. I had some time between my first and second years of med school. Honestly, there was so much to do here that I couldn't think of anything better.
INTERVIEWER: What were you doing? Describe a kind of a typical day for us.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Typical didn't really exist. I came here to work with a group called Road to Relief and they're working alongside the military. They had several branches of their operations some were humanitarian aid, evacuating civilians. The branch that I joined they were helping medical evacuations of soldiers. And we were working around the Bakhmut area.
It would be me, a partner, and a driver. We would go out to any casualties in the field. At this point, the casualties might get very, very basic field care. It sounded like he had a tourniquet already but that's so far all I know. And we're going, well, pretty close to the front at this point. We would be the first people actually providing medical care.
INTERVIEWER: Tell me a little bit about your experience in the villages, you know, how are folks holding up in villages? Were you able to help them, say, with meds and that kind of thing and some just basic care?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Yeah. So a little bit in my downtime I met a couple of American doctors, they were with an organization called Medic Corps. And what we would do is we went to some villages that were recently liberated. The situation was pretty bleak. There was people who hadn't seen a doctor for two, three years. And so when we came and established a clinic in a village of 500 people we probably saw at least half of them.
Some people couldn't afford any meds. Some people there was a transportation issue to go see a doctor. For others, they didn't have the knowledge or access to a doctor to know how they should be managing their health. And so what we are able to do is we'd see all these people, we'd resupply them with meds for sometimes five, six months and help them get at least a little bit of a break until maybe they can get more funds until they can get access to medications locally.
INTERVIEWER: Tell me about the difficulty in working in the field.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Well, it was really hard for me not really knowing what to expect, what the conditions would be like. I had a vague sense from the team before me of what I was getting into, but like the first day I was there essentially the drills-- the drills we were doing were artillery drills. What's coming in, what's going out, what sounds should you be aware of, when you drop. Reminded me of a scene from the movie All Quiet on the Western Front.
The battlefield looks a little bit different than what we might imagine. There's trenches and there's sort of pockets of fighting, but most of it is happening in the air. There's artillery. There's drones. Honestly, seeing battles isn't as common.
It was the constant threat of there's drones in the air. We're in an artillery range. It's weird just how quickly you get used to these things.
INTERVIEWER: But in a sense, well, I can't even imagine what you did in the field as an EMT would pale in comparison I'm sure to serving as a medic in a war. You have some training, but oh my goodness.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Yes, it was quite a different subset of medicine. In the US the most trauma we'd see on an ambulance would maybe be a car crash or some elderly person that fell and we have some head injury. Here, we're getting the whole spectrum of penetrating trauma, blunt trauma, explosive trauma, amputations. I got a very large amount of experience very quickly. You know, I was learning new things daily.
INTERVIEWER: I know you did some videos of your comrades. We're going to play a little audio right now with some translation and we're going to start with Alexander.
SUBJECT 1: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERPRETER: Hi. My name is Alexander. My call sign is the [? savchuk. ?] Before the war, I worked in construction. I had nothing to do with medicine or the military, but unfortunately the war came to our country and with it destruction, killing. And so I joined the Army. Now, I work as a driver on the ambulance. My job is to always be behind the wheel.
SUBJECT 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERPRETER: Good day. My name is Volodymyr. Call sign check. At the moment, I am working with the third assault brigade as a medic with a medevac team. I was born in Kryvyi Rih and I am 43-years-old. I lived many years abroad in Czechia. I worked there as a welder at a chemical plant. As soon as the war started all my children were here and so I returned to Ukraine without thinking twice.
I returned to defend my country. Until this day, I am here helping retrieve the wounded, evacuation of the wounded, deceased. This is the best job I've had in my life.
SUBJECT 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SERGEY KARACHENETS: You know, it was really surprising to me the backgrounds of the people that came to work with. A lot of these people had, like Volodymyr said, they had nothing to do with the military, nothing to do with medicine, and they felt like this was where they belonged. For them it's the country that they live in. For me, it's my homeland. I was able to give what I could.
INTERVIEWER: So, how were the supplies? Were you well supplied or did you have to make do with what you have?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: I was well supplied. The team I was with they had a lot of strong volunteers for a lot of these guys they're getting donations from family, from friends for basic supplies like body armor, uniforms. The army is doing a lot here, but they're not supplying some of the things that we would assume a US Soldier would have. Even things like housing, there's not exactly a barracks. The guys are renting apartments to be in the area they're deployed in.
SUBJECT 3: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERVIEWER: What do you want Minnesotans to know about the war and your experience there that maybe doesn't get covered all the time?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Well, for one thing, it's still going on. It might not be new news anymore, but things aren't really ending. I don't know things at the top level. I don't know the politics of it all, but I from the guys I talk to that the support that they're getting from the West is absolutely necessary to keep going.
SUBJECT 3: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SERGEY KARACHENETS: But it's not enough to win at the moment.
INTERVIEWER: You're learning new things daily, Sergey, but that's a lot of emotional weight to carry for one who's so young. How are you dealing with that?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: A few things. I have really supportive friends and family back home. They're checking up on me constantly. Another part of it, this is just personality, but when I find myself busy from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, it just doesn't leave too much time to spend thinking about it. I'll probably do a little bit more of that when I get back home, but I like to say I thrive in this sort of high stress, high moving environment.
INTERVIEWER: Do you plan to go back?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Even if the war ends tomorrow, there's going to be so much work here. There's going to be so many areas that have been left without medical care. As much time as I can get while still fulfilling my medical education back home. Can't have too much experience. I'll definitely be back.
INTERVIEWER: Well, Sergey, I wish you all the best and of course, successful studies and I really appreciate your time.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Thank you very much for taking the time to, once again, share my story. It's been quite nice talking to you, and [NON-ENGLISH].
INTERVIEWER: That was 24-year-old Sergey Karachenets who spent the last two months as a medic in Ukraine. He's got three more years of medical school and hopes to incorporate what he learned from combat medicine into his future practice. By the way, thank you to Gracie Stockton for producing this story.
Most recently, Sergey worked alongside the group Road to Relief to directly help soldiers injured in the fight against the Russian aggression. He's coming back to Minnesota to prepare for fall classes. And as he got ready to leave, he spoke to me about what he's done in Ukraine and about his future. Sergey, thank you for taking the time.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Thanks for organizing all this. Thanks for sharing my story.
INTERVIEWER: Absolutely. So, you know, you could have stopped after the first couple of trips. What led you to go on a third trip to Ukraine?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Well, the war is not over. I had some time between my first and second years of med school. Honestly, there was so much to do here that I couldn't think of anything better.
INTERVIEWER: What were you doing? Describe a kind of a typical day for us.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Typical didn't really exist. I came here to work with a group called Road to Relief and they're working alongside the military. They had several branches of their operations some were humanitarian aid, evacuating civilians. The branch that I joined they were helping medical evacuations of soldiers. And we were working around the Bakhmut area.
It would be me, a partner, and a driver. We would go out to any casualties in the field. At this point, the casualties might get very, very basic field care. It sounded like he had a tourniquet already but that's so far all I know. And we're going, well, pretty close to the front at this point. We would be the first people actually providing medical care.
INTERVIEWER: Tell me a little bit about your experience in the villages, you know, how are folks holding up in villages? Were you able to help them, say, with meds and that kind of thing and some just basic care?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Yeah. So a little bit in my downtime I met a couple of American doctors, they were with an organization called Medic Corps. And what we would do is we went to some villages that were recently liberated. The situation was pretty bleak. There was people who hadn't seen a doctor for two, three years. And so when we came and established a clinic in a village of 500 people we probably saw at least half of them.
Some people couldn't afford any meds. Some people there was a transportation issue to go see a doctor. For others, they didn't have the knowledge or access to a doctor to know how they should be managing their health. And so what we are able to do is we'd see all these people, we'd resupply them with meds for sometimes five, six months and help them get at least a little bit of a break until maybe they can get more funds until they can get access to medications locally.
INTERVIEWER: Tell me about the difficulty in working in the field.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Well, it was really hard for me not really knowing what to expect, what the conditions would be like. I had a vague sense from the team before me of what I was getting into, but like the first day I was there essentially the drills-- the drills we were doing were artillery drills. What's coming in, what's going out, what sounds should you be aware of, when you drop. Reminded me of a scene from the movie All Quiet on the Western Front.
The battlefield looks a little bit different than what we might imagine. There's trenches and there's sort of pockets of fighting, but most of it is happening in the air. There's artillery. There's drones. Honestly, seeing battles isn't as common.
It was the constant threat of there's drones in the air. We're in an artillery range. It's weird just how quickly you get used to these things.
INTERVIEWER: But in a sense, well, I can't even imagine what you did in the field as an EMT would pale in comparison I'm sure to serving as a medic in a war. You have some training, but oh my goodness.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Yes, it was quite a different subset of medicine. In the US the most trauma we'd see on an ambulance would maybe be a car crash or some elderly person that fell and we have some head injury. Here, we're getting the whole spectrum of penetrating trauma, blunt trauma, explosive trauma, amputations. I got a very large amount of experience very quickly. You know, I was learning new things daily.
INTERVIEWER: I know you did some videos of your comrades. We're going to play a little audio right now with some translation and we're going to start with Alexander.
SUBJECT 1: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERPRETER: Hi. My name is Alexander. My call sign is the [? savchuk. ?] Before the war, I worked in construction. I had nothing to do with medicine or the military, but unfortunately the war came to our country and with it destruction, killing. And so I joined the Army. Now, I work as a driver on the ambulance. My job is to always be behind the wheel.
SUBJECT 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERPRETER: Good day. My name is Volodymyr. Call sign check. At the moment, I am working with the third assault brigade as a medic with a medevac team. I was born in Kryvyi Rih and I am 43-years-old. I lived many years abroad in Czechia. I worked there as a welder at a chemical plant. As soon as the war started all my children were here and so I returned to Ukraine without thinking twice.
I returned to defend my country. Until this day, I am here helping retrieve the wounded, evacuation of the wounded, deceased. This is the best job I've had in my life.
SUBJECT 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SERGEY KARACHENETS: You know, it was really surprising to me the backgrounds of the people that came to work with. A lot of these people had, like Volodymyr said, they had nothing to do with the military, nothing to do with medicine, and they felt like this was where they belonged. For them it's the country that they live in. For me, it's my homeland. I was able to give what I could.
INTERVIEWER: So, how were the supplies? Were you well supplied or did you have to make do with what you have?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: I was well supplied. The team I was with they had a lot of strong volunteers for a lot of these guys they're getting donations from family, from friends for basic supplies like body armor, uniforms. The army is doing a lot here, but they're not supplying some of the things that we would assume a US Soldier would have. Even things like housing, there's not exactly a barracks. The guys are renting apartments to be in the area they're deployed in.
SUBJECT 3: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERVIEWER: What do you want Minnesotans to know about the war and your experience there that maybe doesn't get covered all the time?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Well, for one thing, it's still going on. It might not be new news anymore, but things aren't really ending. I don't know things at the top level. I don't know the politics of it all, but I from the guys I talk to that the support that they're getting from the West is absolutely necessary to keep going.
SUBJECT 3: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SERGEY KARACHENETS: But it's not enough to win at the moment.
INTERVIEWER: You're learning new things daily, Sergey, but that's a lot of emotional weight to carry for one who's so young. How are you dealing with that?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: A few things. I have really supportive friends and family back home. They're checking up on me constantly. Another part of it, this is just personality, but when I find myself busy from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, it just doesn't leave too much time to spend thinking about it. I'll probably do a little bit more of that when I get back home, but I like to say I thrive in this sort of high stress, high moving environment.
INTERVIEWER: Do you plan to go back?
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Even if the war ends tomorrow, there's going to be so much work here. There's going to be so many areas that have been left without medical care. As much time as I can get while still fulfilling my medical education back home. Can't have too much experience. I'll definitely be back.
INTERVIEWER: Well, Sergey, I wish you all the best and of course, successful studies and I really appreciate your time.
SERGEY KARACHENETS: Thank you very much for taking the time to, once again, share my story. It's been quite nice talking to you, and [NON-ENGLISH].
INTERVIEWER: That was 24-year-old Sergey Karachenets who spent the last two months as a medic in Ukraine. He's got three more years of medical school and hopes to incorporate what he learned from combat medicine into his future practice. By the way, thank you to Gracie Stockton for producing this story.
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