Deep beneath the war-torn landscape of eastern Ukraine, a secret underground hospital is providing life-saving care to soldiers injured by Russian drones. Located near the frontline city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk oblast, the facility opened in August and is the second of its kind. It sits six metres below ground, protected from aerial attacks.
Major Oleksandr Holovashchenko, the clinic's surgeon, said the location ensures safety for both patients and medical staff. The stabilisation point treats 30-40 patients daily, with 90% of cases involving injuries from Russian first-person view (FPV) drones. 'It's an age of drones and a different kind of war,' he noted.
Among the wounded was 28-year-old Artem Dvorskyi, who suffered a leg injury from an FPV explosion. He described the devastation in his village, with drones and bodies everywhere. Another patient, 38-year-old Pavlo Filipchuk, survived a drone blast that left him with concussion. He said he was lucky to be alive.
Since 2022, Russia has repeatedly targeted medical facilities, with human rights groups reporting nearly 2,000 attacks and 261 health workers killed. The underground hospital, built from steel bunkers and reinforced with timber, soil and sand, can withstand direct hits from artillery and drone-dropped explosives.
The facility was financed by Ukrainian steel and mining company Metinvest, which plans to build 20 such units. Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's national security council, described them as 'critically important for saving the lives of our military'. The surgeon, Holovashchenko, recounted performing a double amputation on a soldier whose tourniquet had been on too long due to evacuation delays caused by aerial threats.
