“In the day, there were bleeding bodies; at night, there were sirens and bombs.”
That’s how Dr. Vaibhavi Nazare, a 24-year-old from Pune, Maharashtra, sums up her life for the last three years—not in a war movie, but as a real wartime doctor in Ukraine.
While thousands of Indian students rushed home in February 2022 as the Russian invasion began, Vaibhavi chose to stay. Not out of recklessness, but out of a deep commitment to her dream—to become a doctor, and serve people in their most desperate hour.
When War Knocked, She Stayed
Vaibhavi was a third-year medical intern in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, when her university issued advisories to leave. Flight tickets were sky-high, airports were soon closed, and India’s advisory came too late for many. But even when she had a chance to return, Vaibhavi refused.
“I would either survive or die doing what I came here for,”
she told herself.
As the war escalated, sirens became her lullabies. For weeks, she slept on the floor next to windows that cracked from nearby missile strikes. Food shortages hit hard—
“For a week, I survived on just bread,”
she recalls. Yet she continued reporting to her hospital every day.
From Intern to Surgeon—Inside a Wartime Hospital
In a public hospital in Kyiv, Vaibhavi began assisting with basic care: dressing wounds, stitching cuts. But soon, with limited staff and endless patients, she was doing full surgeries.
“Within two months, I was operating on my own,” she shares.
The hospital was a place of chaos—but also her sanctuary. Bombs shook nearby buildings, but surgeries had to go on.
“We had to finish fast, electricity was scarce. I remember sweating in Ukraine’s freezing winter,”
she says.
Most of her patients were injured soldiers, many with bullet wounds, amputations, or burns. “Their bodies were broken, but their eyes told deeper stories—stories of people who had seen death up close.”
Moments That Changed Her Forever
One story that haunts her: a soldier just slightly older than her came in with his leg destroyed. After a long surgery, they had to amputate. “When he woke up, the first thing he asked was—‘How is my unit?’”
She paused.
“He didn’t cry. He just stared at the ceiling.”
Another day, a missile struck a building just beside the hospital. A window exploded near her.
“I dropped to the ground. That night, I couldn’t sleep.”
Despite such horrors, the team of doctors, nurses, and volunteers bonded like family.
“We cracked jokes, hugged, reminded each other—we’re in this together.”
Ukraine Became Her Home—and Her Test
The experience hardened her, but also filled her with purpose.
“Before the war, I only worried about exams. Now, I’ve seen life at its most fragile,”
she says.
She earned her postgraduate degree in general surgery, all while working in a war-torn country. Her Ukrainian colleagues, she says, trusted her skills and made her stronger.
Even Ukraine’s Foreign Minister visited the hospital one day. Vaibhavi, not knowing who he was, treated him. Later, she found he had written about her bravery online. “That was humbling—but I was just doing my job,” she smiles.
Coming Home—Someday Soon
More than three years have passed since the war began. Vaibhavi is now a qualified doctor, working in the same Kyiv hospital. She’s applying for a visa to return home to Pune, to reunite with the parents who anxiously watched her journey unfold from afar.
“They’re proud of me, but I know they’ve suffered too,” she says. “I became a doctor. A wartime doctor. I never imagined it this way, but I don’t regret a thing.”
A Story of Courage That Must Be Told
Dr. Vaibhavi Nazare’s story is not just one of resilience and sacrifice—it’s a reminder of the human cost of war, the power of purpose, and the quiet strength of a woman who chose service over safety.
From Pune to Kyiv, from student to surgeon—Vaibhavi’s story is one the world needs to hear.
