I read an article in The Australian written by columnist David Penberthy, he detailed the story of a former military surgeon who is assisting not only medics in Ukraine, he is field operating on severely wounded soldiers to save their lives. Dr Craig Jurisevic has plenty of experience in war zones, he is offering his specialised services to save brave Ukrainian lives – I have the utmost respect for this guy.

Dr Jurisevic is highly complementary of the Ukrainian soldiers, he has nothing but respect for both their courage, tenacity, their resourcefulness and their motivation. Based on the article, he stated that they know they are going to win, it is not a war of their choosing, they have to win as it is a war for their existence. I do like the self-belief of the Ukrainians, they brave, they are resourceful, they are willing to fight Russian aggression and they have performed better than most expected.

What the surgeon reported was these soldiers with horrific injuries only required small amounts of pain relief compared to what patients normally require. He said he saw patients sitting in a hospital bed a day after major operations, this is their level of motivation. I am guessing this pain relief is in short supply, so they get by with what they have. They just get on with it, they are mentally strong and they are committed.

Dr Craig Jurisevic stated the soldiers are different in Ukraine that other theatres of war he served. In one case, a soldier who lost a leg was returned to the front lines six weeks later with a temporary artificial leg flying drones. Their injuries are severe, losing limbs after stepping on mines, some have lost both legs and an arm. This is amazing, they are defending their people, their land, their way of life and they are preventing annihilation.

I fully believe, against all odds, that Ukraine will prevail here, as long as the US and European governments continue to support Ukraine with weaponry and punish Russia with sanctions. Ukraine does the fighting to liberate their country, the rest of the world chips in with support. Furthermore, the sanctions on the Russian state and Russian oligarchs should be increased to reduce and erode oligarch support for Putin. Despite being a dictator, he still requires the support of the Russian ruling class to maintain his hold on power.