- Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/GERMANY WOUNDED German Medevac brings wounded Ukrainians to Berlin
- Date: 20th August 2015
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 20, 2015) (REUTERS) BERLIN TV TOWER MEDEVAC PLANE LANDING AIRPORT PLANE TAXIING WOUNDED BEING BROUGHT OUT ON STRETCHERS MEDICAL TEAM CARRYING WOUNDED UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS TO AMBULANCES, VARIOUS EXTERIOR OF GERMAN ARMY HOSPITAL IN BERLIN CHIEF ANAESTHETIST AT THE GERMAN ARMY HOSPITAL IN BERLIN, MICHAEL BENKER, TALKING TO PRESS AMBULANCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) CHIEF ANAESTHETIST AT THE GERMAN ARMY HOSPITAL IN BERLIN, MICHAEL BENKER, SAYING: "The main injuries are injuries of the limbs, the arms and legs, brought on by wounds, and these need a careful therapy, both in terms of antibiotics, as well as in getting the person mobile again." HOSPITAL WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (German) CHIEF ANAESTHETIST AT THE GERMAN ARMY HOSPITAL IN BERLIN, MICHAEL BENKER, SAYING: "Sometimes we have to perform a sort of plastic surgery in order to cover the wounds that have occurred, sometimes it is a very tough and tiring process, but the final result - which sometimes takes up to two weeks, but can take months - they have all been good somehow. Good to very good." UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO BERLIN, ANDRIY MELNYK, AND MILITARY OFFICIALS WALKING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (German) UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO BERLIN, ANDRIY MELNYK, SAYING: "Germany is highly engaged, not just in trying to achieve peace, not only in trying to find a sustainable solution in the east, but also in the humanitarian area. We have already been able to benefit from great help for the soldiers and the wounded, but also for the many displaced people that we have." MELNYK SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO BERLIN, ANDRIY MELNYK, TALKING ABOUT THE UKRAINE SUMMIT IN BERLIN ON MONDAY (AUGUST 24TH) SAYING: "We are hoping from this important meeting that there will be new impulses for the peace process. The heads of state and government will discuss the situation as it is and will take a look at this spiral of escalation which we are unfortunately facing in the last weeks, and how to stop this spiral, and how to apply pressure on Moscow in this sense." ARMY MEDICAL STAFF SPEAKING BENKER AND MELNYK SPEAKING, VARIOUS
- Embargoed: 4th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABGEC8W2D9AG9NZLYO3YI6M466
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A German army Medevac brought in Ukranians wounded in fighting for medical treatment in Germany on Thursday evening (August 20), as a new wave of violence rekindled concerns a ceasefire deal could be crumbling.
Five wounded soldiers arrived in Berlin on Thursday, as the Ukrainian military said four servicemen have been killed and 14 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the past 24 hours.
Four more soldiers continued on the flight to Hamburg, where they will also be treated in a German military hospital.
"The main injuries are injuries of the limbs, the arms and legs, brought on by wounds, and these need a careful therapy, both in terms of antibiotics, as well as in getting the person mobile again," said Chief Anaesthetist at the German Army Hospital in Berlin, Michael Benker.
"Sometimes we have to perform a sort of plastic surgery in order to cover the wounds that have occurred, sometimes it is a very tough and tiring process, but the final result - which sometimes takes up to two weeks, but can take months - they have all been good somehow. Good to very good," he said.
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Melnyk said they were experiencing a lot of assistance from the German side, both politically in looking for a solution to the conflict, but also in the effects of it.
"Germany is highly engaged, not just in trying to achieve peace, not only in trying to find a sustainable solution in the east, but also in the humanitarian area. We have already been able to benefit from great help for the soldiers and the wounded, but also for the many displaced people that we have," said Melnyk.
A notable increase in military and civilian casualties in the past two weeks has prompted the leaders of France and Germany, who helped broker the six-month-old truce, to arrange new talks with President Petro Poroshenko to discuss how to preserve the peace.
"We are hoping from this important meeting that there will be new impulses for the peace process," Melnyk said. "The heads of state and government will discuss the situation as it is and will take a look at this spiral of escalation which we are unfortunately facing in the last weeks, and how to stop this spiral, and how to apply pressure on Moscow in this sense," he added.
The Ukrainian military reported renewed rebel shelling of government positions near the separatist-held city of Donetsk and mortar fire in villages near the strategic Kiev-controlled port city of Mariupol.
Separatist officials accused Ukrainian troops in turn of shelling rebel territory, including residential areas.
On Wednesday, NATO warned Russia, which the West accuses of supporting the separatists with equipment and fighters, that any attempt by the rebels to take more of Ukraine's territory would be unacceptable.
Poroshenko will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Berlin on Monday to discuss the latest escalation in the conflict, which has killed over 6,500 since erupting in April 2014. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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