Ukrainian soldiers show the effects of war on their faces
Ukrainian officials dismissing a claimby the head of the WagnerPrivate Army Group, who had said thatRussian forceshold back mode in, quote, legal terms.Yevgeny Prigozhinmade that claim in this video,which he said showed himraising a Russian flagat the side of a council building,a Ukrainemilitaryspokesman says the videois incomprehensible.David McKenziejoining us with the very latest.He’s on the groundin Kiev in Ukraine for you David.Well, that’s right.That video,which is, of course, taken at nightand not exactlyclear what we are seeing there.But Prigozhin claimedthat they had in a legal sense,taken backthat heavily contested cityin the eastern part of the front.Now, Ukrainian officialssaying that’s, quote, wishful thinking.They saywhile that is a very difficult situation,they still control certainsections of that city.And importantly,they say they are ableto get food, medicine and the woundedout of that area, as well as ammunition.So and they also point out,
overmany, many monthsthe Russians:
I think, which is important, that overman, many months the Russians and the privatemilitary contractors have not been able to take back money.That much is clear.You know, the ongoing shellingand rocket attacksand missile attacksin the eastern part of the countryand frankly, throughout this countryhave had a devastating tollon soldiers and civilians alike.We got rare access inside a team of U.S.and Canadiansurgeons working toreconstruct Ukrainian faces.I must warn some viewersthey could find some ofthese images, disturbinglevelsand. Right.The impactof war is hard to look at my finger.The difficulty that that I’m havingis thatI don’t know what anything looks likebehind the skin here.I can make an openingthat looks like there’s an eye,but they’re never goingto look like normal eyelids.And the surgical realitiesare nothing like civilian life.Okay.
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How do you compare it to here in Ukraine?Well, the level of complexityfor these cases is significantlymore elaborateand significantly more complex.We think we can get the mouthworking better.Face a future mission.Director Anthony Perseidsays the blast injuriesare often devastating.One of the things that we can dois improvethe appearance of the scar,multi-level boneand soft tissue injuries.It really does not get any more complexthan this, even in a combat scenario.They brought togetherhighly specialized plasticsurgeons, anesthesiologistsand nurses from the US and Canadato reconstruct and repair.All that bone is missingwhat many cannot.And if we can do that,then that certainly isa fulfilling opportunity.So it’s not just a physical change,it’s a psychological help you hope.Absolutely. Absolutely.And it’s a psychological helpnot just for the patient,but also for their family.Roman Polanski is one of their patients.
He’s invited us to his homeWhat do I think of him?I’m proud of my son,says his mother, Lisa Thomas.I’m proud of him.I’m proud of the factthat he didn’t run away.He didn’t hide.I should call someearly in the war.His mechanized infantrybrigade faced the bruntof Russia’s invasionand their oncoming tanks.Are you surprised that you survivedI do not understand how I survived,he says. Doesn’t that make it worse?I don’t even understandhow I got through the shellingbecause it was dark.The night I was hanging out,I was concussed.My whole face was covered in bloodShrapnel went right through me.It shouldn’t lose.As he says, many inhis brigade were lost.We were all like one family, he says.You know, somewhere you feel your guilt.But I didn’t also die like they did.Roman livedAnd this will be his third surgerywith Dr. John Croteau.What what bothers you the most now?Our hope is that at some pointthey leave happyand then I don’t see them again.On my end,I have to appreciate we’re making stepsbecause we don’t fix themif we make them better.So this is where we shine,which is in the operating room.
All of the steps and activities that we were doing before getting here is really to get us to this point.Roman surgeryis one of the first of the day.He says Dr.Friedel and the team have alreadyput him back together and saved his life.Dr.Frodo isworking to remove a cheek implantjust a tiny bit higher honor.Among the margins in this kind of surgeryare very small,but the differences for the patientscan be huge.A person’s appearanceis a reflection of their inner spirit,of their inner self to the worldand we must never forget that.But everyone wants to havea facial appearancethat others want to look at.I would want to get to know him.It’s part of the human conditionI’ve been in touch with Dr.Frodo, Becky, over the next few daysafter that surgery of Ramon.He says that Roman’s doing well.The swelling will eventually come down.They’re coming back injust a matter of weeks.As we say in that report,there takes a long term commitment.And part of the commitmentis the patients themselves decidingwhether they want to go onwith these multiple surgeriesthat at times make marginal differences.But in general, they’re making a huge difference their lives. Becky.It is it is absolutely remarkable. Their work is to be absolutely applauded.
