Themes by tag: doctors

In 2023, the UNBROKEN Centre, together with the UNBROKEN Charitable Foundation and L’Oréal Ukraine, launched the joint social project “(Not) Up For Beauty.” Its goal is to help women affected by russian aggression overcome the physical effects of war, restore their appearance, and regain self-confidence.

What support do participants receive within the project?

– Consultations with qualified specialists in plastic surgery, aesthetic medicine, and other medical professionals if needed;

– Individual treatment plans depending on the consequences of injuries, including surgeries, cosmetic procedures, and CO₂ laser scar resurfacing;

– Sessions of body-oriented psychotherapy and counseling.

Over more than two years since its launch, 61 women have received assistance. All services within the project are provided free of charge.

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with the project’s specialists and, where appropriate, with participants.

• casualties
• doctors
• women

On March 26, volunteer doctors from FRIDA Ukraine will travel on a mission to a children’s home in the Kyiv region. The team includes around 20 medical professionals, including a pediatrician, neurologist, psychologist, urologist, and surgeon. The doctors regularly visit the facility and provide medical care to children.

On March 28–29, FRIDA Ukraine teams will travel to the Sumy and Kherson regions to deliver medical assistance to civilians.

By prior arrangement, journalists can cover the work of medical volunteers and conduct interviews with patients and doctors.

Background: FRIDA Ukraine’s medical volunteer missions are regular deployments of teams of doctors to frontline and remote communities across Ukraine. Each mission includes more than 20 specialists from various fields, including neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, therapists, dermatologists, and others. During these visits, free medical consultations, check-ups, and tests are provided to local residents. The team has also recently introduced cancer screening services.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Kherson
• Kyiv
• Sumy

From March 22 to 28, Ukraine will host the sixth Face to Face humanitarian mission. A team of American reconstructive facial surgeons will work in Lviv for a week.

Doctors will provide assistance to patients with facial nerve palsy, bone loss in the face, eyelid and orbital injuries, and soft tissue deformities. Both military personnel and civilians injured as a result of the war can apply, and all surgeries will be provided free of charge.

Journalists can arrange interviews with the medical team both online and in person in Lviv, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• doctors
• Lviv

On March 21–22, groups of FRIDA Ukraine volunteer doctors will travel on missions to provide medical assistance to civilians in frontline areas. They are heading to Mykolaiv Oblast.

By prior arrangement, journalists may cover the work of the medical volunteers and interview patients and doctors.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine’s medical volunteer missions consist of regular trips by a team of doctors to frontline and remote communities in Ukraine. Each mission includes over 20 specialists in various fields: neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, internists, dermatologists, and others. During these trips, free appointments, consultations, and tests are provided for local residents. Recently, the team has also begun conducting cancer screenings—early diagnosis of oncological diseases—to help detect illnesses in their initial stages.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Mykolaiv

Olga is only 24. She is an otolaryngologist and has been participating in FRIDA Ukraine’s medical volunteer missions for two years. During her time as a volunteer, she has visited all regions where FRIDA operates, including trips to frontline areas and children’s homes.

Most often, the doctor encounters chronic sinusitis or hearing loss. And often these conditions become chronic not because people didn’t want to seek treatment, but because there was nowhere and no one to turn to.

Since the beginning of 2026, Olga has been going on missions every two weeks. The doctor has created her own little tradition that supports both her and her patients during the missions. She gives people fortune cookies and waits for them to unfold the paper and smile.

Once, a girl of about ten read her fortune: “The future of Ukraine is in your hands; remember that.” Olya told her: “Child, remember this—it’s true.”

The hardest thing for Olya is dealing with people who have survived the horrors of the occupation. They speak about it calmly, but the doctor herself has to hold back her tears.

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Olga in Kyiv.

For reference: The “FRIDA Ukraine” medical volunteer missions consist of regular trips by a team of doctors to frontline and remote communities in Ukraine. Each mission includes over 20 specialists in various fields: neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, internists, dermatologists, and others. During these trips, free appointments, consultations, and tests are provided for local residents. Recently, the team has also begun conducting cancer screenings—early diagnosis of oncological diseases—to help detect illnesses in their initial stages.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Kyiv

The sixth Face to Face humanitarian mission will take place in Ukraine from March 22 to 28. A team of American facial reconstructive surgeons will work in Lviv for a week.

The doctors will help those with facial paralysis, facial bone loss, eyelid and eye socket injuries, and facial tissue deformities. Military personnel and civilians who have been wounded in the war can apply — all operations will be free of charge.

You can communicate with the team of doctors both online and offline in Lviv, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• doctors
• Lviv

In Lviv, the UNBROKEN rehabilitation center has begun manufacturing prosthetic eyes, noses, and ears for patients who have lost part of their face in war, as a result of an accident, or due to illness. Exoprosthetist Taisiya Yarova creates special overlays that attach to the skin and mimic a natural appearance.

In total, the center has already made 20 eyeball prostheses, one exoprosthesis overlay for the face, and one exoprosthesis for a finger (a new direction).

A facial exoprosthesis is a prosthesis that attaches to the skin and mimics the natural appearance of lost parts. The process of manufacturing prostheses is extremely complex. First, the prosthetist takes a cast of the patient’s face, performs a 3D scan, and manually forms a prototype from plasticine based on the digital model. Then they make a wax model that reproduces the texture and color of the skin, wrinkles, and the smallest anatomical details. After that, the specialist casts the model from medical silicone and paints it by hand.

By prior arrangement, journalists can learn more about exoprosthetics at the UNBROKEN center in Lviv and talk to exoprosthetist Taisiya Yarova.

• casualties
• doctors
• Lviv

Oleksandr Demchenko is a military anesthesiologist. In 2016, he volunteered for mobilization. After the start of the full-scale invasion, he became one of those who agreed to go to Azovstal, where Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol were holding the line under siege.

The team boarded a Mi-8 helicopter that flew at extremely low altitude. Later, they were transferred to a boat that successfully reached the surrounded metallurgical plant. Oleksandr recalls his work at Azovstal as a routine he managed to maintain despite extremely difficult conditions, a shortage of medicines, and constant shelling. He performed surgeries, dressings, and monitored the condition of the wounded.

In May 2022, Oleksandr and his fellow soldiers went into russian captivity. He was taken to a penal colony in Olenivka in the occupied Donetsk region, where he was held for three months. Oleksandr survived the attack carried out by russians in Olenivka, which killed more than fifty Ukrainian prisoners of war.

In September 2022, he was returned to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange. Almost immediately, Oleksandr resumed his duties and continues to serve.

Journalists can speak with Oleksandr online or offline in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

For reference: The defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. By order of the command, Ukrainian defenders ceased resistance, left Azovstal, and surrendered into enemy captivity. On May 20, 2022, Mariupol fell under russian occupation.

• doctors
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

In civilian life, Kateryna Sokolenko worked as a nurse in the village of Fedorivka in the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region. Long before the full-scale invasion, she became known for her vocal performances on the shows “X-Factor” and “Ukraine’s Got Talent.”

In 2016, she joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a senior nurse. Since then, Kateryna has been saving the lives of Ukrainian service members. She was already serving in the military when the full-scale invasion began. Currently, Kateryna holds the position of medical instructor in the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.

She believes that military service is her true calling. At the same time, she has put her singing career on hold, although she occasionally performs for her fellow soldiers.

An interview with Kateryna can be arranged online or offline in Kyiv on February 20–21 by prior appointment and in coordination with the press officer.

• doctors
• military
• women

Doctors from the United States of America — volunteers of the FRIDA Ukraine medical mission and long-time friends of the organization — have arrived in Ukraine on a visit of solidarity and support.

Despite the war, the challenging security situation, and winter frosts, they have once again decided to dedicate their personal vacation time to helping Ukrainian doctors and patients.

This time the medical professionals have already visited Kyiv and are now in Kharkiv, where they will remain until February 5. They are visiting medical facilities, communicating with Ukrainian colleagues, sharing professional experience, and supporting local teams.

Among the volunteers is Elena Pal-Val, a pediatrician from the USA who has worked for many years at one of the country’s leading children’s hospitals. Elena has Ukrainian roots, and for her this trip is not only a professional mission but also a personal gesture of support for the country of her origin.

Accompanying her in Ukraine is her husband, Gregory Luke Larkin, an emergency medicine physician, medical university professor, researcher and instructor with many years of international experience. The couple are not participating in volunteer initiatives with FRIDA Ukraine for the first time, and each time they emphasize that it is important for them to be useful here and now.

FRIDA Ukraine invites journalists to interview American volunteer doctors.

Reference: The FRIDA Ukraine medical mission brings together Ukrainian and international doctors who provide free medical care, conduct consultations, screenings, and professional exchanges in various regions of Ukraine, including in frontline and border areas.

• doctors
• volunteers