‘It hurts to think about Azovstal’: The surgeon smuggled into Mariupol to save Ukrainian soldiers
“It really hurts to think about Azovstal,” Yevgen says, remembering how bombs rained down as defenders made their last stand inside the steelworks. “Not all of us came back.”
It was a desperate situation. Medical staff worked around the clock treating the wounded in a bunker, as fighters outside mounted fierce resistance against appalling odds.
Yevgen Gerasimenko, a retired military surgeon, was working in a hospital in Dnipro, southeastern Ukraine, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February last year. Like so many others, he put his hand up to defend his homeland.
What followed was a daring flight into besieged Mariupol on a helicopter loaded with ammunition. The plan was to smuggle him into Azovstal to save lives.
After the steelworks and city fell to Kremlin forces on 20 May, he spent four months as a prisoner of war.
“I can’t think about Azovstal without tears in my eyes”, Yevgen, 62, tells Sky News in an exclusive interview for the anniversary of the surrender of the steelworks.
Yevgen Gerasimenko
Flying low into Mariupol under cover of darkness
“Helicopters were there waiting for us,” he said.
It was 2am on 31 March 2022 and Yevgen was at an airport with a group of fellow medics including another surgeon, two anaesthesiologists and a head nurse.
There wasn’t even enough room to sit down in the aircraft because of all the supplies packed tightly onboard.
“We flew really low, about eight or 10 metres above the land. Sometimes I even felt we touched the tops of trees.”
They landed successfully and transferred to motorboats which were loaded with ammunition and weapons.
Smoke rising from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol
“We couldn’t have any lights, it was dangerous. We didn’t want anyone to spot us so we had to use GPS to get to Azovstal.”
It took about an hour to reach the docks near the factory. But their adventure was far from over – airstrikes started as the group approached the plant and lasted for about three hours.
They watched as planes approached the metalworks and dropped bombs just 700 metres or so from where they were hidden. Eventually, they made it inside.
The ‘fortress’ came under relentless shelling from Russian forces
Inside the factory fortress
“We were exposed to constant bombardment from the enemy,” Yevgen said. “They tried to hit us from air, land and sea.”
There was a constant flow of wounded coming into the bunker where Yevgen and his colleagues worked, treating about 350 patients at a time.
A Ukrainian soldier inside the ruined metalworks on 7 May 2022. Pic: AP
“Our medical staff were physically exhausted and psychologically depressed. They had to work 24/7 with injured people.
“There wasn’t enough air in there. There wasn’t enough drinking water, food or sunshine.”
Ukrainian soldiers injured during fighting against Russian forces pose for a photographer on 10 May, 2022. Pic: AP
Azovstal fighters lay down their arms
The defence of Mariupol has already gone down in history, with the last Ukrainian soldiers holding out for weeks in the ruins of their city.
Finally President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave the order for all those who remained in the steelworks to surrender.
In Yevgen’s view, “that order saved the lives of over 2,500 people”.
A Ukrainian soldier stands inside the ruined Azovstal factory prior to the surrender. Pic: AP
On 20 May, after more than 80 days of resistance, the last Ukrainian fighters laid down their arms. Those who had defended the steelworks were hailed as heroes by their government.
They were credited with tying up Russian troops for weeks, buying time for Ukrainian forces elsewhere to regroup and rearm.
Read more:
The pounding of Azovstal – pictures that tell a thousand words
Released Ukrainian prisoner of war reveals torment at the hands of Russians
Four months as a prisoner of war
After their surrender, any hopes that he and his colleagues would be immediately returned to Ukraine, or granted rights consistent with their status as medical professionals under the rules of war were dashed.
“Russia did not follow the Geneva Convention. It violated all the rules,” he said.
“All our medical staff, including nurses and military doctors, were taken hostage.”
Ukrainian servicemen leaving the steelworks after the surrender. Pic: AP
Yevgen says he was held captive for a total of four months. He was taken prisoner on 20 May – he remembers the date because it’s his wife’s birthday – until 20 September when he was released back into Ukrainian-held territory.
“It’s difficult to describe the feelings I experienced during that time”, he said.
“I feel bitterness, and I feel sorry for the nurses and medical staff who are still in Russian-held territory, illegally kept as prisoners of war.”
Heart of Azovstal project
Yevgen was able to return home. He is now back working at a hospital treating wounded soldiers.
He is also promoting the Heart of Azovstal project, an initiative launched by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov to support people who helped defend Mariupol, and the families of those still in captivity.
The project includes treatment and rehabilitation programmes designed to meet the diverse needs of the soldiers and their families, and help them return to a civilian lifestyle.
Looking back at the events of 12 months ago, Yevgen says it is tough to think about what happened. But, he adds, if he could go back to March 2022 he would do it all over again.
“Mariupol, Donetsk and Luhansk regions and Crimea – this is our homeland and we must defend it.”
It’s a year since the US put Donald Trump back in the White House and I’ve spent this anniversary week in Florida and in Pennsylvania – two worlds in one country where I found two such contrasting snapshots of Trump’s America.
There are many ways to reflect on the successes and failures of the past year. Different issues matter to different people. But the thing which matters to all Americans is money.
The cost of living was a key factor in Donald Trump’s victory. He promised to make the country more affordable again. So: how’s he done?
On Wednesday, exactly a year since Americans went to the polls, the president was in Miami. He had picked this city and a particular crowd for his anniversary speech.
I was in the audience at the America Business Forum as he told wealthy entrepreneurs and investors how great life is now.
“One year ago we were a dead country, now we’re considered the hottest country in the world.” he told them to cheers. “Record high, record high, record high…”
The vibe was glitzy and wealthy. These days, these are his voters; his crowd.
“After just one year since that glorious election, I’m thrilled to say that America is back, America is back bigger, better, stronger than ever.” he said.
“We’ve done really well. I think it’s the best nine months, they say, of any president. And I really believe that if we can have a few more nine months like this, you’d be very happy. You’d be very satisfied.”
There was little question here that people are happy.
Liz Ciborowski says Trump has been good for the economy
“Trump’s been a good thing?” I asked one attendee, Liz Ciborowski.
“Yes. He has really pushed for a lot of issues that are really important for our economy,” she said.
“I’m an investor,” said another, Andrea.
“I’m a happy girl. I’m doing good,” she said with a laugh.
Andrea says she’s happy with how the economy is faring
A year on from his historic victory, the president was, notably, not with the grassroots folk in the places that propelled him back to the White House.
He had chosen to be among business leaders in Miami. Safe crowd, safe state, safe space.
But there was just one hint in his speech which seemed to acknowledge the reality that should be a concern for him.
“We have the greatest economy right now,” he said, adding: “A lot of people don’t see that.”
That is the crux of it: many people beyond the fortunate here don’t feel the “greatest economy” he talks about. And many of those people are in the places that delivered Trump his victory.
That’s the untold story of the past year.
A thousand miles to the north of Miami is another America – another world.
Steelton, Pennsylvania sits in one of Donald Trump’s heartlands. But it is not feeling the beat of his greatest economy. Not at all.
At the local steel union, I was invited to attend a meeting of a group of steel workers. It was an intimate glimpse into a hard, life-changing moment for the men.
The steel plant is shutting down and they were listening to their union representative explaining what happens next.
David Myers used to be employed at the steelworks
The conversation was punctuated with all the words no one wants to hear: laid off, severance, redundancy.
“For over 100 years, my family has been here working. And I was planning on possibly one day having my son join me, but I don’t know if that’s a possibility now,” former employee David Myers tells me.
“And…” he pauses. “Sorry I’m getting a little emotional about it. We’ve been supplying America with railroad tracks for over a century and a half, and it feels weird for it to be coming to an end.”
Cleveland Cliffs Steelton plant is closing because of weakening demand, according to its owners. Their stock price has since surged. Good news for the Miami crowd, probably. It is the irony between the two Americas.
Read more US news:
JD Vance’s reaction to a big 24 hours in US politics is telling
New York’s new mayor shouldn’t expect any easy wins
Steelton in Pennsylvania
Down at the shuttered plant, it’s empty, eerie and depressing. It is certainly not the image or the vision that Donald Trump imagined for his America.
Pennsylvania, remember, was key to propelling Trump back to the White House. In this swing state, they swung to his promises – factories reopened and life more affordable.
Up the road, conversations outside the town’s government-subsidised homes frame the challenges here so starkly.
“How much help does the community need?” I asked a man running the local food bank.
Elder Melvin Watts is a community organiser
“As much as they can get. I mean, help is a four-letter word but it has a big meaning. So help!” community organiser Elder Melvin Watts said.
I asked if he thought things were worse than a year ago.
“Yes sir. I believe they needed it then and they need it that much more now. You know it’s not hard to figure that out. The cost of living is high.”
Nearby, I met a woman called Sandra.
Sandra says it’s getting harder to make ends meet
“It’s been harder, and I’m a hard-working woman.” she told me. “I don’t get no food stamps, I don’t get none of that. You’ve got to take care of them bills, eat a little bit or don’t have the lights on. Then you have people like Mr Melvin, he’s been out here for years, serving the community.”
Inside Mr Melvin’s food bank, a moment then unfolded that cut to the heart of the need here.
A woman called Geraldine Santiago arrived, distressed, emotional and then overwhelmed by the boxes of food available to her.
“We’ll help you…” Mr Melvin said as she sobbed.
Geraldine’s welfare has been affected by the shutdown
Geraldine is one of 40 million Americans now not receiving the full nutritional assistance programme, known as SNAP, and usually provided by the federal government.
SNAP benefits have stopped because the government remains shut down amid political deadlock.
I watched Geraldine’s rollercoaster emotions spilling out – from desperation to gratitude at this moment of respite. She left with a car boot full of food.
A year on from his victory, Donald Trump continues to frame himself as the “America First” president and now with an economy transformed. But parts of America feel far, far away.
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