Lawmakers want US to set up field hospitals for Ukraine

Apr 22, 2022, 6:00 AM | Updated: Apr 23, 2022, 6:28 am

FILE - Ambulance paramedics move a civilian wounded in shelling onto a stretcher to a maternity hos...

FILE - Ambulance paramedics move a civilian wounded in shelling onto a stretcher to a maternity hospital converted into a medical ward in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 2, 2022. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration to establish field hospitals near Ukraine's border and ramp up medical support for what's expected to be a months-long war of attrition waged by Russia (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration to establish field hospitals near Ukraine’s border and ramp up medical support for what’s expected to be a monthslong war of attrition waged by Russia.

Forces aligned with Ukraine have suffered thousands of casualties since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. And Russian strikes on hospitals and other non-military targets have killed large numbers of civilians and strained Ukraine’s ability to care for sick and wounded people. The Associated Press has documented three dozen Russian attacks on medical facilities, hitting medics, patients and even newborns.

More than a dozen House members wrote Friday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking for the U.S. to fill gaps in Ukraine’s medical infrastructure. The steps recommended by the group include opening field hospitals in eastern Poland, providing Ukraine with armored ambulances and taking some of the sick and wounded to the U.S. military’s Landstuhl regional hospital in western Germany.

“We’re going to have to really step up in a really big way to relieve the combat wounded and civilian casualties that will be coming in the weeks and months ahead,” said Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who recently visited Poland and other countries in the region.

Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, said in a statement that “we must remain united and provide Poland and our other NATO partners with the necessary medical and healthcare assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people.”

With diplomatic efforts making little public progress so far, most observers believe the war in eastern Ukraine could go into the summer. President Joe Biden has committed to the U.S. ramping up its support for Ukraine while not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and avoiding actions the White House sees as drawing Russian President Vladimir Putin into a direct conflict with Washington. Deploying U.S. doctors and medics to eastern Poland could be risky if there’s a strike near the border.

Crow said he supported Biden’s decision not to send troops or establish a no-fly zone over parts of Ukraine to limit the risk of escalation with Russia. But providing medical support should not be seen as escalatory, he said.

After failing to take Kyiv and other major cities across Ukraine, Russia has shifted its forces into a battle focused on Ukraine’s south and east. Putin appears to be focusing on a boomerang-shaped front through much of Ukraine’s Donbas region, bombarding military sites as well as hospitals and other known shelters for civilians.

Ukraine has held out against Putin’s offensive longer than much of the world expected. An estimated 2,000 troops remain holed up inside a sprawling steel plant in the key port city of Mariupol, which Russia is close to taking after having bombed and shelled it for weeks. Biden on Thursday announced an additional $1.3 billion in new weapons and economic assistance.

Even hundreds of miles away from the front line, field hospitals in eastern Poland staffed by U.S. and Western personnel could ease the burden on Ukraine and “make sure there’s sustainability to this conflict,” said Crow, a former Army Ranger.

“The Ukrainians just do not have the capacity to support tens of thousands of combat wounded over the course of months,” he said.

Marine Corps Lt. Col. Anton T. Semelroth, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Defense Department since the war began has provided first aid kits and tourniquets to Ukraine, and “we are considering what additional assistance could be provided.”

State Department spokesman Ned Price, asked about Ukraine’s medical needs, noted that the U.S. is providing “the Ukrainian government with resources it can use as it sees fit.”

___

AP Diplomatic Writer Matt Lee contributed to this report.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              FILE - Serhii, father of teenager Iliya, cries on his son's lifeless body lying on a stretcher at a maternity hospital converted into a medical ward in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 2, 2022. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration to establish field hospitals near Ukraine's border and ramp up medical support for what's expected to be a months-long war of attrition waged by Russia(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
            
              FILE - Ambulance paramedics move a civilian wounded in shelling onto a stretcher to a maternity hospital converted into a medical ward in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 2, 2022. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration to establish field hospitals near Ukraine's border and ramp up medical support for what's expected to be a months-long war of attrition waged by Russia (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

AP

This photo provided by Robert Wilkes, owner of a house boat management company, shows smoke rising ...

Associated Press

Houseboats catch fire while docked at Wahweap Marina on Lake Powell

More than half a dozen house boats momentarily caught fire at a popular boating destination on the Utah-Arizona line on Friday.

3 days ago

File - Women work in a restaurant kitchen in Chicago, Thursday, March 23, 2023. On Friday, the U.S....

Associated Press

US hiring, unemployment jump in May and what that says about the economy

The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations.

3 days ago

(Pixabay Photo)...

Associated Press

Oath Keeper from Arizona sentenced for role in Jan. 6 riot at US Capitol

Edward Vallejo, a U.S. Army veteran from Phoenix, oversaw a “Quick Reaction Force” at a Virginia hotel that was prepared to deploy an arsenal of weapons into Washington if needed, authorities say.

4 days ago

FILE - U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz listens during a news conference, Jan. 5, 2023, in Washi...

Associated Press

US Border Patrol chief is retiring after seeing through end of Title 42 immigration restrictions

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol announced Tuesday that he was retiring, after seeing through a major policy shift that seeks to clamp down on illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border following the end of Title 42 pandemic restrictions.

5 days ago

FILE - President Joe Biden talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., on the House steps as...

Associated Press

House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default, sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate

The House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.

5 days ago

Sean Bickings (Family Photo via city of Tempe)...

Associated Press

Family of man who drowned last year in Tempe Town Lake files wrongful death lawsuit

The family of a man who drowned in Tempe Town Lake a year ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city Wednesday, noting that its police department doesn't have a policy requiring officers to go into the water to save someone.

5 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

Lawmakers want US to set up field hospitals for Ukraine