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‘They spare nobody’: Volunteer medic in Kyiv describes impacts of Russia’s assault on the city
“You have the feeling that you have nowhere to hide."
In the last week, the situation on the ground in Kyiv has only gotten worse.
Tata Marharia, a member of Ukraine’s volunteer medical battalion, appeared on CNN on Thursday to describe what she is seeing and what has changed in recent weeks.
“A lot more children,” she said of the victims in Russia’s assault of Ukraine’s capital city.
“Just a couple of days ago we were looking for a kid who lost her limb,” Marharia said. “Because she was shocked. We administered first aid and then she got lost and then we were looking for her. That was a pretty horrible experience, I would say. And then a lot of people with brain damage. Because as a result of aviation shelling, all the cities, many, many people are wounded. Many people are dying.”
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Marharia, who previously told CNN she was studying international humanitarianism at a university before the Russian invasion, said she’s “pretty happy” that Russians are also suffering, physically and economically, the results of the war.
“This is what keeps me going, probably, helping my country,” she said. “Knowing that something is being done.”
Still, the volunteer medic said what she is seeing is “devastating.”
“They spare nobody,” she said of Russian attacks. “Journalists, medical service members, kids, old people, the elderly people. And it’s — you have the feeling that you have nowhere to hide, probably. And you have nowhere to run, especially when the drones are right above your head. And you always question whether this is the drone of our army or if it is a hostile drone, and if it is, where to hide. So sometimes you don’t really have the time to think about it. You just go with what you have to do.”
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Before Marharia goes to sleep is when she really starts to think about what she is seeing, even though she tries not to.
She said she knows if she thinks about it, she’ll get demoralized. She said she tries to stay strong, drawing on the messages of support from her friends abroad.
“But I don’t know how long I can go with news of friends and my close ones being captured by Russians, being wounded, and dying,” she said. “It is very, very devastating.”
Marharia said she tries not to have hatred toward all Russians because she knows there are some trying to be aware of what is going on in Ukraine and protesting.
“Those who are not aware, I do have very, very little tolerance towards them, because it’s unforgivable to not be aware of what’s going on in Ukraine right now,” she said. “Being ignorant is one of the biggest crimes, I think, there are. So what I would say — just Google what is going on. Look at the pictures.”
Marharia urged Russian citizens to strike, demonstrate, and express solidarity with Ukraine.
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“I am thankful to those who express their position,” she said. “I don’t respect those who are silent.”
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