As the doctor prepared to administer an injection, the loud thud of an artillery shell in the distance broke the silence in the operating room.
The staff at this emergency medical treatment point for soldiers near the Zaporizhzhia front line in Ukraine's south, aren't fazed by the danger.
"We are at constant readiness now. We are prepared for events of any character: be it day, be it night, be it big or small amount of wounded. When needed, we are ready to provide needed help to save the lives and health of our boys," said Denys, a 35-year-old surgeon who had just finished stitching up a soldier's head wound as the blasts thudded.
There have been near misses. In March, a Russian rocket landed 10 metres from the old, single-storeyed building's entrance, showering shards of glass and chunks of brick onto rudimentary operating tables. Less than two weeks ago, another rocket flattened a chunk of a nearby schoolhouse.
Denys, who like most other staff would give only a first name, runs the centre, known as a stabilisation point.
Similar stations are found within easy reach of all Ukrainian front lines.
The job of the medics here is to perform emergency first aid on casualties so they survive the journey to hospitals further from the fighting - a task expected to become even more vital when Ukraine launches its long-awaited counteroffensive.
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