Themes by tag: doctors
Danger, a white Toy Poodle from Israel, is more than just a companion, he’s a vital part of the FRIDA Ukraine medical volunteer mission, supporting efforts to save lives across the war-torn regions of Ukraine. Since the outset of the all-out invasion, Danger has joined volunteer teams on the ground, traveling extensively from Bakhmut to the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. and has even come under fire multiple times. Outfitted in a branded hoodie bearing the word “Volunteer,” he also has an Instagram account that offers a glimpse into his work on field missions.
His owner, Mark Neviazhskyi, a volunteer from Israel and later a co-founder of FRIDA Ukraine, named the dog during his energetic puppyhood. To keep him out of harm’s way, Mark would often say, “No, it’s dangerous,” – a phrase that eventually inspired the name “Danger.”
Now serving as a true emotional support animal, Danger plays a key role in helping patients open up and easing anxiety among those affected by the war. He is especially impactful during visits to orphanages, where his presence brings comfort and joy.
Journalists can meet Danger in Kyiv or accompany him during scheduled field missions, with prior arrangements. Interviews with his owner, Mark Neviazhskyi, are also available, along with access to photos and videos documenting Danger’s involvement in humanitarian efforts.
For reference: The organization is a volunteer medical mission composed of doctors from both Ukraine and abroad. The team operates in frontline and heavily affected areas, setting up mobile outpatient clinics to provide free medical care to civilians. Their services include pediatric care, particularly for orphans, the evacuation of critically ill patients, and mental health support.
“I want my face to look like it did before the war” – these are the words of 43-year-old Oksana Serhiienko, a patient at the UNBROKEN Center, who was wounded while evacuating her children from the occupied part of Kyiv region during the early days of russia’s full-scale invasion.
russian troops shot Oksana in the face. The bullet shattered her jaw. She has since undergone multiple surgeries, including a procedure to reconstruct part of her lower jaw using a titanium plate. Though the operations saved her life, they left visible scars that she is now determined to erase.
Oksana is receiving treatment at the Aesthetic Medicine Center of the First Medical Union of Lviv, where doctors have already completed the first stage of laser resurfacing. She will require at least two more sessions to achieve the desired results.
For reference: Oksana Serhiienko’s care is part of a collaborative project between the UNBROKEN Center and L’Oréal Ukraine called “No Time for Beauty.” The initiative aims to help Ukrainian women heal by removing the physical marks of war from their faces and bodies.
The UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center operates under the First Medical Union of Lviv.
On May 5, media representatives are invited to meet a 16-year-old patient of the Transplantation Center at the First Medical Union of Lviv, who successfully underwent a kidney transplant from a posthumous donor on Easter.
Solomiia, 16, was born with a congenital spinal anomaly and uses a wheelchair. In 2022, she contracted COVID-19, which led to severe complications and resulted in stage 5 chronic kidney disease. Since then, she has relied on dialysis and spent nearly a year hospitalized.
Shortly before Easter, a matching organ became available from a deceased donor. The transplant was successful, and Solomiia was discharged just a week later.
Accreditation is required to attend the event.
During the meeting, journalists will also have the opportunity to speak with the transplant team from the First Medical Union of Lviv.
FRIDA Ukraine is launching retreat programs for medical workers from Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts as part of a project aimed at restoring mental health. The project is implemented with the support of the “Capable and Strong” program (Eastern Europe Foundation and the Government of Switzerland).
On April 20-25, the retreat will take place in the Chernivtsi oblast. Participants will include 20 medical workers from Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts and 4 psychologists.
The retreat offers an opportunity to immerse in silence and engage in restorative practices after years of working under chronic stress, shelling, and overwhelming pressure. The program includes body-oriented practices, meditation, art therapy, and lectures on burnout prevention and recovery from secondary traumatization.
Journalists will have the opportunity to interact with the participants, facilitators and psychologists, take photos/videos onsite, or obtain comments remotely. Accreditation is required for the event.
Background: According to the Ministry of Health, over 75% of medical professionals in Ukraine experience symptoms of professional burnout. The full-scale war has only added to the challenges: during the invasion, 1,982 health facilities were damaged and 301 were destroyed. Specialists from the Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts are particularly vulnerable as they work at the limits of their capacity: under shelling, with a lack of resources and a heavy patient load.
FRIDA Ukraine is a medical volunteer mission that unites over 1,500 doctors from Ukraine and around the world. Volunteers work in frontline regions, setting up mobile clinics, conducting free screenings, and providing medical assistance to civilians.
Anton Osokin, 28, is an oncologist. Originally from Donetsk Oblast, he has lived in Kharkiv since 2014. In August 2022, he joined the Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission FRIDA Ukraine to help civilians affected by the war. When Ukrainian forces liberated occupied areas of the Kharkiv region in September 2022, Anton took part in the first field missions to the newly freed settlements. He recalls being most struck by the sight of homes reduced to rubbles and charred tanks scattered across the area. While providing medical assistance, he could still hear fighting in the distance.
Throughout russia’s wide-ranging military offensive, Anton has continued to work at the Kharkiv Regional Clinical Oncology Center, where he heads the operating room, while also participating in FRIDA Ukraine missions. His work has taken him to Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Sumy regions.
Anton says the missions often reveal advanced-stage cancer in patients. Several individuals he examined in the field later traveled to Kharkiv for treatment.
Interviews with Anton can be arranged in advance, either in Kharkiv, during field missions, or online.
For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a non-profit, non-governmental medical mission made up of volunteer doctors from Ukraine and Israel. Since the start of the invasion, the organization has been providing emergency and outpatient care to civilians affected by the war.
On April 11, media representatives are invited to attend a capsule laying ceremony in Briukhovychi, Lviv region, marking the start of reconstruction at a medical rehabilitation center set to become the largest facility within the UNBROKEN national rehabilitation center humanity ecosystem.
The project includes the full renovation of the current rehabilitation center and the construction of new buildings. The total area of the facility will expand from 5,124 m² to 9,101 m². Upon completion, the center will accommodate 105 beds, making it the largest institution in the UNBROKEN network. The initiative is a key phase in a broader Lithuanian government program aimed at supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of Ukrainian veterans.
Foundation work has already been completed for both the new buildings and the swimming pool facility, with reconstruction of the existing premises currently underway. The project is scheduled for completion by November 2025.
Speakers:
– Inga Stanytė-Toločkienė, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to Ukraine;
– Lina Janionytė, Program Manager at the Central Project Management Agency (CPVA);
– Representatives of the Vilnius City Municipal Council;
– Maksym Dotsenko, Director General of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society;
– Andriy Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv;
– Maksym Kozytskyy, Head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration;
– Yulian Holyk, Director of St. Panteleimon Hospital;
– Oleksandr Hura, Director of Watzenrode LLC (main contractor).
The event will also feature a pre-ceremony press conference with representatives from the Lviv City Council, the Lithuanian delegation, the Lviv Regional Military Administration, the Red Cross, and the First Medical Union of Lviv.
Accreditation is required for attendance.
For reference: The project is being implemented by the Central Project Management Agency of Lithuania (CPVA) with funding from Lithuania’s Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Fund.
Vladyslava Romaniuk is a general practitioner and gastroenterologist. She leads the medical volunteer mission FRIDA Ukraine and also serves as the head of the infection control department and project manager at the treatment and rehabilitation center for military personnel at the Oberig Multidisciplinary Clinic.
Originally from the village of Mykilske near Mariupol, Vladyslava moved to Kyiv in 2012 to pursue her studies.
Just days before the full-scale invasion began, she and her family had gone on vacation. On the first day of the war, her husband was in Mariupol but managed to reach the Zaporizhia region. After returning from their trip, her parents remained in the capital. Her grandparents, however, are currently living under occupation. Vladyslava is also a mother.
She was among the first volunteers to join FRIDA Ukraine. Since then, she has taken part in approximately 50 medical missions to areas that were previously under occupation. Vladyslava provides care to patients both in bomb shelters in Donetsk Oblast and in a Kyiv-based clinic.
She has repeatedly taken part in highly dangeros U.S. missions. For instance, volunteer doctors, including Vladyslava, operated in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, while intense street fighting raged through the city.
Interviews with Vladyslava can be arranged in Kyiv or during one of the field missions conducted by the team of medical volunteers.
For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a non-governmental, non-profit medical mission consisting of volunteer doctors from Ukraine and Israel. Since the onset of the invasion, the mission has provided emergency and outpatient medical care to civilians affected by the hostilities.
The only pediatric burn center in western Ukraine that accepts the most critical cases will now be able to treat children at home – in Ukraine – instead of sending them abroad, as was previously the case. St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv now has everything it needs to save young patients with severe burns. The grand opening of the updated pediatric burn center will take place on March 28.
Approximately 12,000 children in Ukraine suffer from burns every year. The war has exacerbated the situation, as any mine or explosion injury is often accompanied by severe thermal trauma.
St. Nicholas Hospital is now fully equipped to care for pediatric burn patients, with advanced and expensive intensive care equipment, a specialized burn bed, a dedicated treatment room, and a laser for post-burn scar resurfacing.
Patients will attend the opening, including Robert, a fifth-grader who tried to replicate a popular TikTok trend by making a homemade firecracker. As a result, he suffered severe chemical burns to his face.
At the opening, members of the media will have the opportunity to speak with Robert and other children who have suffered burns in a variety of circumstances – as well as their parents, doctors, and representatives from socially responsible companies. Prior to the official opening, journalists will also have the opportunity to attend a training session led by the hospital’s burn surgeons for Lviv schoolchildren. The training will teach first aid for burns and raise awareness about the dangers of TikTok trends.
Registration is required for the event.
Viktoriia Didovets, a charge nurse in the Intensive and Efferent Therapy Department for Acute Intoxication at the National Children’s Hospital Okhmatdyt, was injured during a missile strike on the hospital on July 8, 2024. As the attack unfolded, she was evacuating children on dialysis to a shelter when a missile struck the building.
By the time Viktoriia was rushed to the operating room, her pulse was barely detectable. She was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis, an open hip fracture, a ruptured liver, and injuries to her face and ear. For more than eight months, she has been undergoing treatment, determined to regain a full life.
By prior arrangement, Viktoriia is available for interviews in Kyiv or online.
Background: On July 8, 2024, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile struck Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital. At the time of the attack, 627 children were inside.
The strike killed two people—a doctor and a patient’s relative—while injuring 35 others, including nine children. On July 10, a boy who had been in critical condition in intensive care at the time of the attack succumbed to his injuries in a Kyiv hospital.
Dr. Serhii Baksheiev is a gynecologist, obstetrician, reproductive specialist, general practitioner, and a medical volunteer with a PhD in medicine. Since the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has been treating women and assisting with deliveries, all while under fire.
In late 2022, Baksheiev launched his own initiative, which he named the ‘Feminine Shuttle’. This specialized mobile unit is designed for gynecological exams in de-occupied and frontline regions. The vehicle is outfitted with a gynecological chair and all the necessary equipment for thorough examinations.
In a challenging turn of events, Baksheiev was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy in September 2024. Despite his health battle, he has continued his mission to help those in need. Even while recovering from surgery, he joined FRIDA Ukraine’s volunteer medics on a mission to the Sumy region.
Journalists wishing to speak with Dr. Baksheiev can arrange interviews with him either in Kyiv or during his field missions.
For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission focused on providing high-quality care to war-affected civilians.
