Dr Yevhen Shepotynnyk was a neurologist at Mariupol City Hospital No.4 when his world was turned upside down as the Russian Army came streaming over the border into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
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Shelling began almost immediately and just four days later his beloved city was surrounded by 14,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks from Vladimir Putin’s forces.
What followed was a ruthless barrage that left a city that was once famed for its history and its prime location for access to resorts along the Sea of Azov utterly demolished.
Some 100,000 people used to live in Mariupol but it was reduced to rubble by the Russians – with nearly 90 per cent of all the buildings being damaged.
It was a siege that lasted for nearly two months – and ended exactly one year ago when the final valiant Ukrainian defenders surrendered their stronghold at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works on May 20.
Azovstal sat atop a vast network of tunnels and bunkers – which allowed the Ukrainians to mount a brutal final stand against the Russians.
Dr Shepotynnyk travelled to work at his hospital as Putin’s attack intensified on February 28 – taking his family with him as the Russians bared down.
He became locked into a more than 840 hour long shift dealing with horrific injuries and constant death.
The doc stayed at the hospital, constantly on call and getting what little sleep he could as he tried to save as many lives as possible.
“I went on duty, took my family with me, and that was it, we never came home again. It was the longest duty in my life,” Dr Shepotynnyk told The Sun Online.
Mariupol No.4 was just a few hundred metres from the Azovstal plant – so they found themselves constantly under fire from the Russians.
Dr Shepotynnyk went on: “The Russians shelled the hospital many times with everything they had – mortars, Grad multiple rocket launchers, tanks.
“There was almost nothing left of our intensive care unit. Many doctors were killed. But we fulfilled our duty to the end.”
Pictures shared with The Sun Online by the doctor show parts of the hospital completely ruined by the constant barrage of fire.
Dr Shepotynnyk some 840 hours of hell working on the frontline only ended when they were forced to flee the hospital on April 5.
Russian forces were now too close – but they managed to escape as they abandoned Mariupol No.4.
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Hospitals appeared to be fair game for the Russian during the siege as Putin’s forces famously bombed Maternity Hospital No.3 – killing four people and leading to one pregnant woman losing her child.
“The strongest memories are the deaths of colleagues, civilians, and children. These are terrible memories,” Dr Shepotynnyk told The Sun Online.
“There was nothing worse than that. Many medical workers, patients, civilians who were just brought to the hospital, died.
“We had to make very difficult decisions
“It was very difficult with water and food. We felt sorry for the patients who suffered more than we did.”
Being a neurologist, Dr Shepotynnyk dealt with some of the most complex injuries – including those with damage to their brains and spinal cords.
He worked as best as he could in the near impossible conditions – but there was constant death.
For the medic, one of the most chilling memories is of a boy called Alyosha.
The little lad was only 8 – and was found by soldiers hiding under the stairs where his parents had been killed.
He had been badly injured.
Dr Shepotynnyk and his colleagues had to cut a piece out of his skull to save him.
“The boy did not speak for two weeks, silently drawing scary pictures,” the doctor told The Sun Online.
And another defining memory for the doctor, was when the Ukrainian forces brought them a soldier who sadly died.
But the trooper had a medkit with him, which they then later used to save the life of badly wounded young man, 20, thanks to the high quality bandages the kit contained.
“I don’t know the name of the deceased soldier and his comrades. If they read this, I would like them to know that their first aid kit saved a life,” said Dr Shepotynnyk.
He went on: “I am proud that our hospital survived in such conditions.
“We provided assistance to the last, stabilized the patients and took them out alive.”
One year on since the end of the siege, Mariupol remains in the hands of the Russians – being occupied and part of the Donetsk region which Putin claims belongs to them.
Dr Shepotynnyk however is confident they will be able to beat Putin.
“Ukraine will return to Mariupol,” he told The Sun Online.
And now he helps run the Heart of Azovstal project – which helps offer medical treatment and mental health support to those who have fought in the war.
It is funded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation – with Akhmetov being a a Ukrainian billionaire who owned the Azovstal steel plant and owns football team Shakhtar Donetsk.
“The patients I have met personally are very motivated, with a clear focus on rehabilitation, recovery and returning to a full life,” said Dr Shepotynnyk.
“These are people made of steel.”
Kyiv believes they managed to hold against the Putin’s forces at a ratio of six to one in the city – with 6,000 Russian dead to 1,000 Ukrainian.
Up to 25,000 civilians are also feared to have been killed during the siege.
And thousands of Ukrainian soldiers were captured when the steel works were finally surrendered as the stronghold became untenable.
One of those captured was Olexandra Kruchenko, 26, a solider and paramedic, who was at Azovstal.
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“The first thing I remember is my mother’s call at 5am on February 24,” she told The Sun Online.
“Sasha, there are military vehicles driving past us, we don’t understand what is happening,” he mum frantically told her from her home in Hlukhiv.
And with that the war had begun for Olexandra and she quickly found herself fighting in the Siege of Maripol.
“The battles were very close, sometimes we were 200-300 meters away from each other,” she told The Sun Online.
“The Russians outnumbered us, in terms of people, equipment and weapons.”
Olexandra was part of the unit that managed to capture Azovstal on April 11, punching through under the cover of darkness.
“The plant was constantly under enemy attack, it was simply destroyed, and eventually the stocks of food and medicine ran out because we were surrounded and nothing was brought to us anymore,” she told The Sun Online.
And while they held out for more than a month, the siege eventually came to an end and she was captured – being taken to a prison in Olenivka before then being moved into occupied Crimea.
While in captivity she lost 22lbs – but was finally released on October 17, being awarded the Order for Courage by Ukraine.
“In Mariupol, we lost many our brothers and sisters, hundreds and hundreds were wounded,” she told The Sun Online.
“But for more than a year, about two thousand prisoners are still in the hands of the occupiers.”
“I was in captivity for exactly five months and it is a great happiness to return to my native land, to see my family and friends.
“We must not forget about our captives and fight for the return of each and every one of them to Ukraine.”
Russia’s invasion was claimed by Putin to simply be a “special military operation” which would only last two weeks.
Now tens of thousands of Russians – up to 200,000 – are lying dead in the fields across Ukraine.
And millions of Ukrainian civilians have endured untold misery as the cities have been devastated and their homes stolen.
Putin foolishly believed his forces would be welcomed into Ukraine as liberators.
But instead, the initial attack ended in a disaster which saw his forces devastated and thrown back to Russia.
Kyiv also continues to call for Western arms which they believe they need to defeat the Russians.
The world is awaiting to see what Ukraine will achieve in their upcoming counter-offensive – with hopes it could provide key gains across the frontline, especially around Bakhmut.
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