In an interview for the Polish Press Agency, Polish medic Damian Duda - working on the ground in Bakhmut treating the Ukrainian wounded - describes the brutality of the Russian side (in Bakhmut mainly represented by Wagner Group mercenaries.)
He warns against the chances for a peaceful settlement to the war:
"If anyone has any doubts about the level of civilisation represented by Russia and the chances for finding agreement with Russia, they need to understand that the cases of extreme brutality here are not exceptions. The Russian attitude has been shaped by its functioning in a criminal system."
Duda is a member of the "W miedzyczasie" Foundation (literally: "in the meantime"), which organises medics to treat emergency cases for Ukrainian soldiers at the front. (W miedzyczasie Facebook page.)
Duda says that it is mainly the Wagner Group - the mercenary part of the Russian army - that is operating in Bakhmut. However, these are professional soldiers, not the "cannon fodder" recruited by the Wagner Group from prisons. Soldiers and medics on the Ukrainian side need to move from building to building quickly and individually - even a group of 3 or 4 attracts the attention of Russian drones, followed by intense artillery fire.
Duda says that the Russian soldiers who are holed up in Bakhmut are extremely frustrated and they take out this frustration on any prisoners of war. "The Ukrainian soldiers know what awaits them if they are captured, so they fight to the death." Duda added:
"If I will have to choose between becoming a Russian prisoner of war and fighting or committing suicide, the decision will be simple. Only the last two options exist. I will never give in to the Russians because I know what awaits me... in Bakhmut, we often encounter the mutiliated bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. Some of the wounds are from torture but some have been inflicted on the corpses themselves, to take away a "trophy" - a hand or a head."
Sources: PAP, W miedzyczasie Facebook page
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