7:51; Il sole sta sorgendo su Kiev nel 1059° giorno dell’invasione su vasta scala. “Credo nella forza delle persone che mi circondano in prima linea”. Natale con i medici della 3a Brigata d’Assalto, racconto nei commenti.

“We never know what to prepare for, so we meet with two crews,” says Alina, a medic from the 3rd Assault Brigade with the call sign “Cobra”, who operates in the Luhansk direction in Ukraine’s east. Some days, there’s only one wounded soldier, but other days, there are five at once — all depending on how many can be extracted. Every route in and out of the positions is under fire, so each evacuation is a risk. Sometimes they use unarmoured vehicles because they are more manoeuvrable.

The medical evacuation teams stay close to the front line, where the threat of Shahed drones, Lancets kamikaze drones, or glide bombs is constant. Inside their post, there’s a Christmas tree decorated not just with ornaments but also with syringes and rifle cartridges – set up by medics “Lagertha” and “Panda”.

Two infantrymen are brought in; it’s been half a day since they were wounded, but earlier evacuation wasn’t possible. One of them had stepped on a “bolt” (a makeshift explosive device). As soon as he saw the medics, he shouted, “Guys, yesterday was my birthday, and today is my second one! You’ve no idea how happy we are to have made it to you. We didn’t believe we’d get here.”

Cobra was on duty over Christmas. The holiday spirit was nowhere to be felt, even though just a month ago, she had been looking forward to it — especially New Year’s, which always brought a sense of magic. But the hope for something special faded under the weight of exhaustion and the realisation that the fighting was only intensifying.

After her shifts, she wants to be alone. She calls her family to hear about everyday life and to keep her mind occupied. When she is not physically and mentally exhausted, her brothers and sisters will always help. Even though it was not a holiday, they gave each other gifts and organised a “secret Santa”. She gave the anaesthesiologist, who loves energy drinks, a patch that said, “Came to war and died from energy drinks.” The driver, the oldest member of the crew, received a patch that read, “Youth”.

Her gift was a large stuffed white goose, bigger than she is. They had been trying to find a snake, but…When asked about 2025, she says, “**I believe in the strength of the people around me on the front line.**”

Photos by Karina Piliuhina