‘It turns out nothing is sacred in this war’

Russian lies turn Ukrainian hospitals and medical personnel into military targets.

Journalism is too opaque and misunderstood. Chills gives a behind-the-scenes look at how dangerous investigative journalism gets made.

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Debris on the beds of the Kherson Children’s Regional Hospital after a Russian missile attack in January. (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)

I remember thinking how Soviet the hospital in Kyiv seemed. It was massive, with halls of drab menthol greens and industrial tans. One closet-sized doctors’ and nurses’ breakroom had a worn, brown-flowered couch and barely enough room to move. This was state health care, where patients must fight — and sometimes pay beyond what’s possible — to get treatment.

If it sounds similar to the U.S. medical system in this way, maybe it is. But add into the equation a scarcity of medicines and available procedures, and severely underpaid staff. And, maybe surprisingly, also add even more bureaucracy than we in the U.S. are used to. Then consider that Ukraine’s medical system is spiraling because of the war. Supplies are thin, and staff and infrastructure are under physical attack.

This has made it extremely hard for my doctor friend, Vadim, to get the chemo he needs for his brain cancer. I’ve written before about how he’s a pediatric neurosurgeon who has also served as a medic on the frontlines of the war. But in all the times I’ve talked about his work, I’ve never directly addressed the nightmare the country’s medical system is enduring. Like many in the media, I’ve neglected to write about an under-discussed, crucial part of this conflict: the fact that Russia has been deliberately targeting Ukrainian medical personnel and health care facilities.

Vadim needs a new round of chemo. To help him so he can operate again, you can donate here. I’m matching up to $1,500.

No, that sounds too benign. To bring it to life: The Russians have been torturing and murdering doctors and other health care workers. They have been purposely and indiscriminately bombing ambulances and hospitals — well aware of what they’ve actually been destroying.