Bristol paramedics describe 'sobering' Ukrainian war training

The volunteers went to Kyiv on 26 June to teach an emergency medical course to help civilians responding to war casualties

A group of critical care paramedics who provided emergency medical training to civilians in Kyiv have described the "real life threat" to Ukrainians.

Volunteers from the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity taught people in Kyiv how to respond to trauma incidents.

They returned to the UK on 1 July after spending a week responding to local needs and demands in Ukraine.

They passed on skills such as how to stem bleeding, give CPR and use a tourniquet and left essential supplies.

Peter Reeve, one of the charity's paramedics that specialises in critical care, said the experience had been "sobering".

"For them, the missiles, the bombing, the loss of loved ones… is a very real threat."

The training was designed for civilians who would encounter wounded people caught up in the war

In an interview with BBC Radio Gloucestershire, he also described the moment an elderly participant asked how he would do the training with his grandson, saying "it hit home."

He added: "Triage is important. If their building is hit by a missile, they need to be able to identify which injuries are most severe, so they know who to treat first."

A total of 60 Ukrainians completed the training course.

The charity that normally serves people in Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and parts of Wiltshire, also left supplies of tourniquets, dressings, and bandages for the trainees in Ukraine and specialist paediatric equipment was donated to an intensive care unit in Kyiv.