The young Ukrainian doctor was driving me from a medical training centre to the hotel. We were in a southern region of Ukraine. He had been to the front line as a tactical medical trainer and combat medic and was due to go back again soon.
Before the war, he was a civilian doctor. Up to now, he had never mentioned his direct experience of combat to me (nor had I ever asked him), preferring to discuss our training course content – and Ukrainian and Russian literature.
On this occasion, however, the conversation took a different turn when I asked him how close he had been to the Russians on the front line.
“Less than 20 metres away”, he r
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