Themes by tag: casualties
The proximity to the front line does not matter for FRIDA medical volunteer mission, especially when the residents of the communities themselves are asking for doctors to come.
In the near future, a team of 9 doctors will consult patients in Donetsk region (journalists can learn more details about the settlements in question).
The team of doctors was formed in response to the requests of local residents: people need consultations by a cardiologist, a surgeon, an ultrasound technician, a gastroenterologist, a neurologist, an otolaryngologist and an ophthalmologist.
Journalists are invited to join the mission to see and film the work of doctors in difficult conditions, talk to local residents and cover the life in frontline communities
It is also possible to receive photo and video materials after the mission’s return as well as to interview doctors.
For reference: For the second year in a row, FRIDA Ukraine, the largest medical volunteer mission in Ukraine, continues with its trips to the frontline and de-occupied regions to deploy field clinics and provide specialized medical assistance on sites.
“HAB | Lviv Habilitation Center” will open in Lviv on March 7. This is an initiative of the Alliance for Public Health in cooperation with the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center.
“HAB | Lviv Habilitation Center” is a transitional barrier-free space that provides an opportunity to safely relive the experience of war in order to move on. Veterans and civilians who have already undergone physical rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN Center and need to adapt to new living conditions will acquire new skills here.
The area of the habilitation center is 660 square meters. It has 9 rooms and 27 beds. 300 patients are to undergo habilitation there per year.
The first patients of the center were:
- Yana Kovaliova, a librarian from Avdiivka, received an injury in the hostilities, which led to the amputation of her right leg. She underwent treatment and rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN center. She is adapting to everyday life in the Lviv Habilitation Center.
- Illia Dmytryshyn, a soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was wounded while defending Ukraine. He underwent treatment and rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN center. He is focusing on adapting to the status of a veteran and a person with a disability. At Lviv Habilitation Center, Illia is working on his psycho-emotional state and on planning for the future.
During the opening, there will be an opportunity to chat with patients and specialists, as well as join a kintsugi master class to learn the art of imperfection. Patients and guests will glue broken dishes, which is a symbol that after setbacks and trials, one can become even stronger with the right support.
The Fedorchenko family from Kherson region stayed in the occupation for over a year and a half.
While still at home, Tetiana and her husband Raj (he is of Romani origin) did everything possible to avoid russian citizenship and not to send their daughter and grandchildren to a russian school. The family managed to survive hunger, rocket attacks, from which they hid in the basement, and the tyranny of the russian regime. Every day, the military went to the streets with surprise raids.
Once, a unit of russian soldiers broke into a neighbor’s place. Then a policeman approached Tetiana, who was on the street, and told her to be a “witness in the case.” And when Raj wanted to take his wife back to their yard, a machine gun was pointed at him. They shot in the air twice and again pointed the gun at him. The woman persuaded the man to go into the house and let her go to testify.
The family left the occupation in September 2023. For 4 months, they lived and received comprehensive support in the “Hope and Recovery” center of the “Save Ukraine” charitable organization. Among other things, specialists provided psychological assistance to adults and children.
Now the family lives in Poltava region. They are open to communication both in person and online.
Serhii Shpanko is 46 years old. The man joined the ranks of the Defense Forces back in 2014, when russia first attacked Ukraine. Since then, Serhii served in many positions in the army, until he was discharged and became a teacher at the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology. On February 24, 2022, Serhii was in the capital, and together with the cadets he organized the evacuation of the population from Kyiv region, in particular, Bucha and Irpin. At the end of March of the same year, Serhii returned to the Armed Forces, less than a month later, he found himself in the Avdiivka sector. During one of the missions, his car came under enemy fire. Serhii’s next memory after being wounded is the hospital. The soldier received numerous facial injuries, his facial nerve was severed, his ear was torn off and his eye was damaged. Serhii has undergone many surgeries. A team of reconstructive surgeons from Canada, the U.S. and Ukraine decided to restore the functions and symmetry of his face as part of the “Face the Future” international mission. Nowadays Serhii can smile and close his eyelid. The man returned to the Institute, and now teaches cadets to use small arms.
For reference: “Face the future Ukraine” is a mission of Canadian and American reconstructive surgeons, which brings together world experts and their Ukrainian counterparts to restore physical health and aesthetic beauty of people injured in enemy shelling. They also work with servicemen who have suffered face and neck injuries on the front line.
For the second year in a row, FRIDA Ukraine, the largest medical volunteer mission in Ukraine, continues to travel to the frontline and de-occupied regions to deploy field clinics and provide specialized medical assistance on the ground.
Thus, a team of 30 doctors will work in Donetsk region. The team will consist of a surgeon, a physiotherapist, a cardiologist, a therapist, an ENT specialist, a neurologist and other specialists. The mission doctors plan to provide more than 1,500 services (ultrasound, ECG, consultations, field surgeries, etc.).
Also, medical volunteers go to orphanages in different parts of the country. For example, a team of specialists will work in the Zhytomyr regional specialized children’s home, where about 50 children need medical examination. The team consists of 18 doctors, including: a pediatrician, an ultrasound specialist, an ENT specialist, a neurologist, a psychiatrist, a surgeon and an ophthalmologist.
Journalists have the opportunity to join field missions.
Vladyslav Molodykh is a serviceman of the 71st Jaeger Brigade. The occupiers stormed the dugout, where Vladyslav and his brother in arms had been staying for 3 days. During the assault, Vladyslav Molodykh eliminated at least 6 russian invaders. Then the russians blocked the exit from the dugout with the Ukrainians. Also, the debris from a nearby house collapsed into their dugout.
The soldiers, who found themselves under the rubble, ate dry rations until they ran out. The fighters had to survive at sub-zero temperatures without food and water. They melted the snow to quench their thirst at least a little.
Later, the Ukrainians managed to make a small hole in the pile of the debris, through which Vladyslav’s brother in arms climbed out. Other defenders found him with the help of a drone. Vladyslav remained in the dugout for another two weeks. In total, he stayed underground for 41 days. In the end, the man was saved by soldiers who were looking for Vladyslav. Currently, the military man is undergoing rehabilitation in Vinnytsia region.
Additionally: Vladyslav Molodykh is ready to communicate with journalists, both online and offline, by prior agreement.
Maryna and Mykola are both military, they met in 2019 in the army. The woman had two daughters from a previous marriage — Olena and Oleksandra. Mykola also has a daughter named Milana. At first, the family lived in Mariupol, Donetsk region (now the city is occupied), then they moved to Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region (now the city is occupied).
The couple served in the Azov brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. In 2020, Mykola resigned from the Azov and joined the marines. Maryna’s contract ended in November 2021, but she did not want to leave her brothers in arms.
When the full-scale invasion began, Maryna, along with other Azov defenders of Mariupol ended up at the Azovstal plant (i.e. Iron and Steel Works where fierce battles with the enemy took place in the spring of 2022). Mykola wanted to switch with Marina and go to Azovstal instead of her. The woman persuaded him not to do this, because at the checkpoint the russians shot three guys who were on the way to meet their girlfriends, and many others who broke through to the plant went missing. Even then Maryna understood that she and other military personnel were unlikely to get out of the Azovstal alive. And she asked her husband to take care of her daughters. On May 8, 2022, the woman died in a fire at the Azovstal.
Now Mykola is fighting for the right to adopt his deceased wife’s daughters and give them a happy future. He is purchasing a three-room apartment for the girls in Kyiv region so they could live together as a family.
With the help of the Children of Heroes Fund, Maryna’s daughters received gifts and visited a rehabilitation camp, which helped them to distract themselves from terrible memories and disturbing thoughts.
For reference: the defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. Following the order of the command, the Ukrainian defenders stopped putting up the defense, left Azovstal and surrendered to the enemy. On May 20, 2022, Mariupol was occupied by russia.
The Children of Heroes Charity Fund supports children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion. The fund offers financial aid as well as psychological and legal support. The organization helps these children with education and development until they reach adulthood.
As of the beginning of February, 7,889 wards are under the care of the Fund. Of them, 1,062 are IDPs, 151 children have lost their mother and father, 177 are children with disabilities, 970 are children from large families. Every week about 80 children are included into the list of the recipients of the fund’s help. Among the fund’s children, 88% are kids of military personnel, while the remaining 12% are civilians.
On the morning of February 24, just as two years ago, the Irpin city council will hold a session. Just as then, the session will be short. The only issue on the agenda is the allocation of additional aid for the military.
A moment of silence will be observed in the city. Later, everyone will gather on the “Road of Life” – Romanivka Bridge to express gratitude to those who helped save thousands of citizens, defended the hero city of Irpin, and to commemorate those who gave their lives for Ukraine.
Journalists can find out more about the start time of the events.
For reference: in February-March 2022, the city of Irpin, Kyiv region, became a battlefield in the russian offensive on Kyiv. One third of Irpin was occupied, and it was here that the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces managed to stop the russians.
In the first days of the full-scale invasion, the civilians of Irpin were being evacuated through the Romanivka bridge. Then the russian army attacked the bridge, which made evacuation even more difficult. The Romanivka bridge was restored in November 2023, and opened for all types of transport.
The reconstruction of Irpin is still ongoing.
In 2014, the ensemble of the Luhansk Regional Philharmonic confronted the initial onslaught of Russian aggression. As Luhansk, a city in eastern Ukraine where the musicians resided and operated, fell under Russian occupation, they were forced to abandon their belongings and relocate to Sievierodonetsk, situated in the government-controlled sector of the Luhansk region. Compounded by the director’s collaboration with the occupiers, they left behind not only musical instruments but also a crucial accumulation of musical notations and documents. Nevertheless, the Philharmonic persisted in its endeavors at the new locale, embarking on extensive tours across Ukraine and abroad.
Fast forward to February 2022, the specter of evacuation loomed once more as the Russian military encroached upon Sievierodonetsk. This time, the musicians sought refuge in Lviv, where they commenced a series of charitable performances in solidarity with the Armed Forces, subsequently resuming their musical engagements. Presently, the 50-member ensemble delivers 6-7 concerts per month, anticipating future tours. Yet, their ultimate aspiration remains to stage a performance in the liberated confines of Ukrainian Luhansk.
For reference: Following months of clashes, Russian forces seized Sievierodonetsk in June 2022. The city, ravaged by Russian shelling, sustained extensive damage, compelling the majority of its inhabitants to flee.
Antonina Demydenko lived with her son in Vuhledar, Donetsk region. (Her son was disabled, so Antonina took care of him).
On May 13, 2022, the enemy shell hit her apartment resulting in Antonina’s son’s death. The woman lost a leg and an arm.
Antonina is currently undergoing rehabilitation in the ergonomic therapeutic kitchen in the Superhumans Center in Lviv. She makes cookies and buns with one hand, then she treats the team with them.
Superhumans plans to publish a book of Antonina’s recipes in the near future (the initiative is implemented in cooperation with famous chef Olga Martynovska). Royalties from sales of this book will go to Antonina.
Meanwhile, the woman dreams of returning to Vuhledar to rebury her son, whose body was buried near the entrance to their building.
For reference: Vuhledar is a small mining town in Donetsk region that had about 15,000 residents before russia’s full-scale invasion. For a year and a half, the russian army continuously tried to capture the city. There is not a single building left standing in Vuhledar anymore.
