NEAR CHASIV YAR, Ukraine - When the first casualty is wheeled into a brightly lit makeshift field hospital on a stretcher, Ukrainian medic Osmach quickly checks to see if he is conscious.

The wounded soldier confirms that he is, and is transferred to a bed at this medical stabilisation point located close to the eastern Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, scene of fierce clashes with advancing Russian forces.

The round-the-clock facility is one of dozens on the 1,000km frontline in the east and south of the country where injured fighters are first brought to stabilise their condition before being sent on to hospitals further from the fighting.

"Those are guys that come here and fuel you with their heroism and positive emotions ... you don't have the right to allow yourself to give up, to hang your head," said Osmach, a 37-year-old anaesthetist who goes only by his military call sign.

As he spoke, he put on blue surgical gloves in preparation for a shift during which he and a small team of medics dealt with a steady stream of casualties suffering from various injuries to limbs, shoulder and head.

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