Ukraine war: From the coastline to the frontline as NI trauma medic 'risks a lot to save a little'

Friday marked a year since Russian troops entered their neighbouring country with tens of thousands of civilians and forces on both sides passing away.

Rauri Morgan, who is an on-call firefighter on Rathlin Island, swapped the coastline for the frontline, providing medical evacuations and outreach clinics on two separate occasions for Global Augmentation.

The charity was set-up in March last year in response to the humanitarian needs following the start of the war and is primarily made up of firefighters, policemen and ex-US military personnel.

Rauri said: “I remember watching the Ukraine war on television and reading an article in the News Letter regarding a man from Londonderry who went over and volunteered, who I now know to be Craig Patterson.

“Through the charity, Global Augmentation, I was sent out to Bakhmut in November and carried out medical evacuations where we were transferring civilians who needed care such as chemotherapy and cancer treatment.

“We were also involved in mobile clinics as we took doctors and dentists to nearby towns to get people treatment, as well as bringing big bags of dog and cat food to feed stray animals.

“A US medic had to return home in January and the team was short of a member so I agreed to do a two-week stint, but tragedy struck as Pete Reid, who was an American volunteer, was struck by a Russian missile and was killed.

“The second trip was probably better organised as we worked together as a network to send volunteers to the right places to deliver care and attention.

“It's weird how you get used to artillery noises and you can guess how close you are to a missile before it lands, but the outgoing fire rings in your ears and can be extremely painful.”

The 44-year-old, who fundraises for his trips to Ukraine, has failed to rule out a third trip to the Eastern European country.

However, he was quick to point out that the lack of roadworthy terrain is proving to cause difficulties as they fundraise to purchase a 4x4 vehicle.

“I have the luxury where I am able to volunteer and I want to do it,” he added.

“I'm fully aware of the risks but we risk a lot to save a little and there are days where we have to make some tough decisions.

“Whilst I have had to clean blood and other medical needs, the hardest part is always seeing family members saying goodbye to each other.

“A lot of Ukrainians are refusing to leave their homes and the spirit they have is special and they won’t be beaten.

“They are very headstrong and proud citizens who will continue to defend their country.

“I self-fund flights and fundraise to buy medical items in Poland and Ukraine to reduce costs and the money goes further.

“I would never say never in terms of returning to Ukraine but my main focus is to fundraise for the group at the minute as we are working with second-hand ambulances and vehicles.

“As such, we are fundraising for a 4x4 as our mini buses and ambulances can't access certain places due to the roads being heavy.

“The mud on the roads is currently frozen but it will soon turn into a mud bath and it doesn't matter if you're driving an ambulance or not – you are still a target.

“Foreign volunteers have been a target of the Russians, so you have to be careful.”