This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep The current conflict is more than one country fighting to take over another; it is — in the words of one U.S official — a shift in "the world order."Here are some helpful stories to make sense of it all As Ukraine mounts its first major offensive against Russia Serhiy Shatalov leads a battalion of 600 men in some of the heaviest fighting Ukraine — In a battered building surrounded by an iron fence and an overgrown garden an aide offers tea while we wait to meet Col Shatalov leads the 98th Infantry Battalion which is pushing south toward Russian-occupied Kherson part of Ukraine's first major counteroffensive of the war many of them civilians just a few months ago a stocky man with a couple days' growth beard and close-cropped black hair referring to the Russian soldiers — about 7 miles threatening the outskirts of this half-abandoned industrial town But Shatalov's men had steadily pushed them back over several weeks of hard fighting across a maze of farm fields Speaking to Ukrainian media Ukraine's Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said Russia has already been forced to redeploy troops to the Kherson area in order to hold the city issued an intelligence report confirming Ukraine had used long-range artillery provided by the West to threaten key bridges used by Russia to supply their defending troops but Ukrainian officials have said they could retake Kherson as early as September It's an important transport hub with a bridge crossing the Dnipro River near the Black Sea he is interrupted regularly by air raid sirens and by the rumble of Russian tanks firing salvos in the distance Liberating Kherson would be the biggest victory for Ukraine's army since it broke the siege of Kyiv It also would be a major embarrassment for Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin "Ukraine's counteroffensive in Kherson is gathering momentum," British officials concluded "The most politically significant population center occupied by Russia is now virtually cut off from the other occupied territories." Russia is attempting to hold the territory it occupied in the south using a mix of troops showing low morale or appearing to be frightened Shatalov acknowledges his own troops are also a mix of experienced combat infantry everybody including me felt not very well," Shatalov says referring to casualties suffered by his battalion It made my guys angry and [we want to] provide a good revenge for them." and other Western countries are counting on officers like Shatalov to give Ukraine a crucial edge in this war Russia still fields one of the largest armies in the world with a sizable advantage in artillery and tanks Ukraine is still often outmanned and outgunned But Ukraine has military leaders trained by the U.S Marine Corps' Expeditionary Warfare School under a Western style of command It's widely seen by military experts as more nimble and proactive than the bureaucratic Soviet-era style of leadership used by the Russian army A report in June by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that "poor leadership within the Russian army and a highly centralized Russian command and control structure" contributed to Russia's struggles in Ukraine just returned from a training course for Ukrainian officers in Virginia He's convinced that education is a game-changer I can provide my decision [quickly]," he says "I can decide what my guys [are] supposed to be doing right now But he acknowledges retaking Kherson will be costly and says the fight will become harder in the days and weeks ahead He notes his troops are pushing deeper into towns and villages where many civilians are ethnic Russians noting that his soldiers have been given strict instructions: "Do not talk to anybody." He compares the environment in southern Ukraine to the U.S where it was often impossible to tell friend from enemy Shatalov declines to say how long he believes it will take to liberate Kherson I was thinking at first it was going to be very fast But now it's like absolutely unpredictable," he says leading troops in a grinding ground war is also a heavy personal burden He's seen his men die and suffer terrible wounds very hard to make the decisions," Shatalov says this commitment for the Ukrainian people." Polina Lytvynova contributed to this report we incorrectly say that Ukraine's military leaders are trained by the U.S Marine Corps' Expeditionary Warfare School Become an NPR sponsor Myanmar earthquake: Working to meet the biggest needs 90% of our funding comes from individual donors. Learn how you can support MSF’s lifesaving care with a gift. We need your support to continue this lifesaving work MSF teams continue to respond to the needs of people affected by war One year since the escalation of war in Ukraine Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continues to respond to the humanitarian needs of the people affected by the conflict Across Ukraine and in surrounding countries hundreds of MSF staff are working in partnership with local organizations to provide lifesaving medical and mental health care to those who need it most Images from MSF’s response to a year of full-scale war and providing supplies and training to health facilities. MSF is now unable to access areas controlled by Russian forces including areas in the east where we have been present since 2014 MSF runs a medical evacuation train to safely transport patients from overburdened hospitals near the fron tlines tosafer facilities with more capacity Seven hundred of these patients were trauma cases and 136 were admitted to the train’s intensive care car the train has referred 216 patients on 11 trips Family members or caretakers accompany patients on all train trips and tertiary health care services and supports training for specialized emergency response After months of disruption and decreased activities the health care system is slowly recovering medical needs are increasing as some people who fled the fighting return to their homes MSF has launched an agile emergency response running an ambulance in Sloviansk and Pokrovsk MSF ambulances refer patients between health care facilities serving 16 different facilities in the Donetsk region Many of these patients require transport from facilities close to the front line to hospitals further away from the fighting where they can continue their care Of the 1,180 people transferred by this service Some ambulances are also equipped for intensive care unit (ICU) support 41 patients who were intubated or needed specific medical monitoring were transported MSF has supported the emergency department and surgical and intensive care units at the Kostiantynivka hospital since late July MSF teams treated 752 patients in the emergency room (ER) with 168 surgical interventions performed in the operating theater These teams work alongside and in partnership with staff from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health Most of the patients they see are trauma cases The Lyman area was retaken by Ukrainian forces in late 2022 MSF teams conducted 3,152 primary health care consultations in Lyman and the surrounding areas and donated medical supplies We will continue to work in this area and will further explore how MSF can best respond to the evolving needs Voices from MSF patients and staff on the devastating effects of war MSF supports vulnerable people in more than 40 shelters who fled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts where the conflict is particularly intense In Zaporizhzhia we provide support to thousands of people who were displaced from Mariupol Our mobile clinics provide medical consultations and medications for people with chronic illnesses such as hypertension We also refer severely ill patients to hospitals provide psychological first aid and mental health consultations These mobile clinics are being scaled down as many people can once again access these services through Ukraine’s national health system We have started working with boarding houses that care for vulnerable people including the elderly We provide nursing care training to the staff especially on infection prevention and control MSF has developed an agile emergency response capacity in coordination with authorities that aims to provide access to comprehensive health care for civilians when the front line of the conflict moves Services include a medical mobile team that will visit areas close to the fighting to provide urgent medical services based on the needs, including evacuation of patients and primary health care in both Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia MSF continues to support hospitals near the front line through supply donations Mental health activities are also being scaled up to include workers close to the front line as the burden of mental health trauma related to the continuing conflict grows An MSF surgeon works on a patient while training other surgeons at the Okhmatdyt hospital in Kyiv MSF medical staff offer training to local medics on how to manage a mass influx wounded people MSF also runs a clinic providing sexual and reproductive health services including contraceptives and care for people who have experienced sexual violence The team also provides health promotion and information and connects people to health services via social media MSF teams provided 372 consultations for sexual and reproductive health in Dnipro In the hospital our teams provided 972 consultations in 2022 andadmitted 403 patients suffering from violent trauma injuries MSF teams continue to support local health care professionals experiencing burnout and stress Activities include psychological group support and stress management trainings focused on providing coping mechanisms In Mykolaiv oblast and in parts of Kherson oblast recently retaken by Ukrainian forces MSF mobile clinics provide primary health care services and psychological counseling and social services We also support the rehabilitation of health care facilities damaged during the fighting After months of control by Russian forces and extremely limited access to health care the main health issues we see are chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes Important mental health needs are also emerging as people come forward to seek the help of MSF counselors in the villages we visit MSF has been running mobile clinics predominantly in Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts these teams visited 144 towns and villages in the region providing a total of 8,307 medical consultations Services offered include primary health care consultations Medical teams in these areas have provided 1,848 primary health care consultations We run mobile clinics in rural villages and towns in the Kharkiv region Most of MSF’s patients are women over the age of 60 The major medical needs are chronic illnesses We also provide non-food items such as hygiene kits and medical supplies to health facilities Many health facilities in the region have been damaged or destroyed and communities have been living without electricity and heating for months The weather and lack of public transportation makes it difficult for people to reach health care We are seeing an increase in acute diseases including upper respiratory tract infections and exacerbation of asthma MSF teams also provide medical and psychiatric care in two “care houses” that host people with severe psychiatric and neuropsychologic conditions Most of these patients hadn’t received proper psychiatric or medical care for since February 2022 We also provided group and individual psychological sessions for the staff of these facilities In January 2023 we briefly supported three more such facilities in the region MSF runs a project to treat survivors of torture The project has mental health and physiotherapy rehabilitation components Our teams also provide mental health care in 10 different locations outside Kyiv these teams provided almost 1,000 individual mental health consultations we provide physiotherapy and psychological counseling services for war-wounded people in a hospital managed by the Ministry of Interior We also treat patients and train local health staff to respond to major needs including rehabilitation and mental health care which are major gaps in the Ukrainian health care system Since the escalation of the war there are a huge number of people with major injuries and the need for post-operative care is enormous The trauma patients we see are atrisk of developing long-term issues without proper care We also provide self-care and psychological first aid training for railway staff who often end up acting as psychological first responders as they serve people who are evacuating areas heavily affected by the war MSF has made donations of medical supplies to 23 health facilities Kirovohrad oblast and the northern part of neighboring Mykolaiv oblast From April to December we provided 146 training sessions for health professionals and first responders on things like managing influxes of war wounded people A total of 2,301 people participated in these training sessions our mental health team has seen 299 patients in individual sessions and 9,463 patients in group psychoeducation sessions MSF is also distributing relief items (bedding kits and mnore) and doing rehabilitation work in IDP shelters particularly in the area of water and sanitation Our rehabilitation project at the Ministry of Health hospital in Vinnytsia continues MSF teams provide physiotherapy and psychological counseling to war-wounded people following a similar approach to the project we operate in Kyiv This approach focuses on providing hands-on treatment to patients and capacity-building through training for local staff particularly in the southern part of the oblast and rural areas where IDPs have settled without access to primary health care Other mobile teams focus on mental health and health promotion We have carried out training sessions on decontamination and mental health with local health professionals we provided 41 training sessions attended by 764 people in Zakarpattia oblast and 69 sessions in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast with the participation of 1,146 people MSF continues to donate medical supplies on a regular basis We have made 84 donations of kits in about 20 facilities in these two oblasts We also distribute relief items (bedding kits We also offer rehabilitation work at IDP shelters In 2022 our mental health teams in both locations saw 797 patients in individual sessions and 4,593 patients in group psychoeducation sessions 2023, UNHCR had recorded 19,673 Ukrainian refugees in Belarus According to public reporting by the Belarus State Border Guards 5,655 Ukrainians entered the country between January 1 MSF continues to respond to the medical needs of people on the move stranded between Belarus and the European Union While the winter conditions in Belarus seem to have caused a drop in the number of crossing attempts into Europe the MSF team is still caring for people suffering from frostbite injuries— including violence-related injuries—and chronic diseases we have assisted more than 1,200 patients from various countries of origin MSF has not provided any direct support to patients from Ukraine since early December 2022 According to a government decree from mid-September 2022 Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons from Ukraine regardless of their status in Belarus have the right to affordable medical care on an equal basis with citizens of the Republic of Belarus In Belarus, we continue to support the delivery of person-centered care and treatment for people with drug-resistant tuberculosis via the National Tuberculosis Program and provide care and treatment for incarcerated people living with TB, HIV More than 9.4 million people have crossed from Ukraine into Poland since February 24, 2022, according to UNHCR More than 1.5 million people have registered for temporary protection MSF is actively working to support the Ministry of Health to ensure that patients are able to access treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis including displaced patients previously supported by MSF in Ukraine More than 2,800,000 people have crossed to Russia from Ukraine as of October 3 MSF has been present in Russia for 30 years our teams in Russia work with health authorities in Arkhangelsk and Vladimir regions to support lifesaving treatment for patients with drug-resistant TB MSF scaled up its assistance to partner organizations in St Petersburg and Moscow to ensure the continuation of HIV treatment for people from Ukraine and other people in need We have seen an increase in the number of people from Ukraine living with HIV and hepatitis C in need of refills for their antiretroviral medicines To respond to the needs resulting from the conflict in Ukraine MSF has started to support displaced people in the Voronezh Through regional nongovernmental organizations MSF has organized a team of local social workers and legal counselors that are working to ensure that people from Ukraine—mostly newly arrived ones—receive all the necessary qualified medical services in licensed medical clinics and have access to other state social services we have been covering any medical care gaps and paying for the necessary medications and medical consultations We also regularly support organizations working in these regions with essential supplies like food we have provided medical support to around 4,800 migrants which also included nearly 1,020 mental health support sessions our work in Russia is focused on providing medical care where we can supporting the Ministry of Health to treat HIV MSF ran a drug-resistant TB program within the regional penitentiary system in Donetsk We have been responding to the war in eastern Ukraine since 2014 and have continued to run specialized programs to treat infectious diseases like hepatitis C When the conflict escalated in February 2022 MSF was running a drug-resistant tuberculosis project in Zhytomyr and an HIV project in Sievierodonetsk and was working to improve access to primary health care for people affected by years of fighting in the east These projects were suspended as we reoriented our activities to respond to the urgent needs stemming from the escalation of the war Haiti violence pushes MSF trauma hospital to its limits South Sudan: MSF strongly condemns deliberate bombing of its hospital .. © Médecins Sans Frontières 2025 Federal tax ID#: 13-3433452 Unrestricted donations enable MSF to carry out our programs around the world we will reallocate your donation to where the needs are greatest The casualties in the city of Kramatorsk followed a barrage Thursday on a densely populated area of Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv that killed at least three people and wounded 23 Yet the war that has blocked those grain shipments for almost five months did not abate. Russia this week reiterated its plans to seize territories beyond eastern Ukraine where the Russian military has been trying to conquer the Donbas region comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces The Ukrainian president's office said in one Donbas city Russian shelling destroyed a school and damaged 85 residential buildings Ukraine's state emergencies agency said as rescuers found three bodies in the ruins of the school Russia gave a different account of the attack Igor Konashenkov said Thursday's strike killed more than 300 Ukrainian troops who were using Kramatorsk's School No He said another strike destroyed a munitions depot in the industrial zone of the southern city of Mykolaiv Konashenkov also said Russian forces destroyed four U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems between July 5-20 said it has supplied 12 of the multiple-rocket launchers to Ukraine The claims could not be independently verified who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity in line with department rules said Thursday that Russia had not yet taken out a single HIMARS but was likely to "get lucky" and do so at some point announced Friday that as part of a new $270 million security assistance package it will deliver four more HIMARS to Ukraine The package will allow Kyiv to acquire up to 580 Phoenix Ghost drones about 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and more guided rockets known as GMLRS Ukrainian forces have used U.S.-made rocket launchers and tactical drones to destroy Russian targets and hold at bay Russia's larger and more heavily equipped forces which have a higher range and better precision compared with similar Soviet-era systems in the Russian and Ukrainian inventory to strike Russian munitions depots and other key targets three schools were destroyed in the latest Russian strikes Seven Russian missiles hit the small town of Apostolove "There are no military goals behind it and this shelling could only be explained by their desire to keep people on edge and sow panic and fear," Reznichenko said Nomaan Merchant in Washington contributed to this report See what triggers an intervention and how supply and logistics allow our teams to respond quickly Discover our governance and what it means to be an association Find a quick visual guide to our offices around the world Read through our annual financial and activity reports and find out about where our funds come from and how they are spent and plans on how we address issues like racism and reduce our carbon footprint ensuring our actions align with the highest ethical standards Visit this section to get in touch with our offices around the world Médecins Sans Frontières brings medical humanitarian assistance to victims of conflict and where MSF teams respond to different diseases around the world and the challenges we face in providing treatment Learn about the different contexts and situations in which MSF teams respond to provide care including war and natural disaster settings and how and why we adapt our activities to each Learn about our response and our work in depth on specific themes and events Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations We set up the MSF Access Campaign in 1999 to push for access to diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond CRASH conducts and directs studies and analysis of MSF actions They participate in internal training sessions and assessment missions in the field UREPH (or Research Unit) aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action ARHP documents and reflects on the operational challenges and dilemmas faced by the MSF field teams MSF Analysis intends to stimulate reflection and debate on humanitarian topics organised around the themes of migration health policy and the environment in which aid operates This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements BRAMU specialises in neglected tropical diseases This medical unit is based in Rio de Janeiro Our medical guidelines are based on scientific data collected from MSF’s experiences other renowned international medical institutions Providing epidemiological expertise to underpin our operations conducting research and training to support our goal of providing medical aid in areas where people are affected by conflict Evaluation Units have been established in Vienna assessing the potential and limitations of medical humanitarian action thereby enhancing the effectiveness of our medical humanitarian work MSF works with LGBTQI+ populations in many settings over the last 25-30 years LGBTQI+ people face healthcare disparities with limited access to care and higher disease rates than the general population The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection The Intersectional Benchmarking Unit collects and analyses data about local labour markets in all locations where MSF employs people To upskill and provide training to locally-hired MSF staff in several countries MSF has created the MSF Academy for Healthcare and rules of humanitarian law in accessible and reader-friendly alphabetical entries The MSF Paediatric Days is an event for paediatric field staff policy makers and academia to exchange ideas inspire and share frontline research to advance urgent paediatric issues of direct concern for the humanitarian field The MSF Foundation aims to create a fertile arena for logistics and medical knowledge-sharing to meet the needs of MSF and the humanitarian sector as a whole non-profit drug research and development organisation that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases founded in 2003 by seven organisations from around the world Our digital portal dedicated to sharing the latest medical evidence from our humanitarian activities around the globe Noma is a preventable and treatable neglected disease but 90 per cent of people will die within the first two weeks of infection if they do not receive treatment The TIC is aiming to change how MSF works to better meet the evolving needs of our patients MSF's telemedicine hub aims to overcome geographic barriers for equitable the MSF Sweden Innovation Unit deploys a human-centered approach for promoting a culture of innovation within MSF As war continues across Ukraine and people flee our teams are responding to a severe humanitarian crisis both in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries Across Ukraine people remaining in cities under attack face incredible hardship; they often live without electricity Hospitals are consistently in danger of running out of supplies emergency room and intensive care unit needs and medicines for patients with chronic diseases such as asthma We currently have approximately 116 international and 685 Ukrainian staff working in response to the war in Ukraine nurses); psychologists; in logistics and administration; and management MSF has expanded our activities in eastern Ukraine in response to the growing humanitarian needs in areas close to the frontline and in places hosting people who have fled their homes MSF already works with health authorities in Arkhangelsk and Vladimir regions of Russia to reduce the burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) and improve treatment In Hungary we provided basic medical care and mental health care to refugees who crossed the border via mobile clinics we ran in partnership with local organisations and with the support of Hungarian doctors MSF had teams in Moldova at the border crossing points with Ukraine to assess the situation of refugees who made their way across MSF previously worked in Slovakia training Ministry of Health staff on providing treatment for victims of sexual and gender-based violence and for TB and MDR-TB.  Your donations pay for millions of consultations Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have only been allowed entry into regions controlled by Ukrainian forces which means they have witnessed the destruction caused by the war in Ukrainian-held territory only Despite MSF’s efforts to obtain permission to access regions under Russian occupation this access has not been granted; MSF has therefore been unable to observe the situation in areas under Russian military control The following information has been collected in areas under attack (Mykolaiv Apostolove) and areas formerly occupied by Russia and retaken by Ukrainian forces (regions of Donetsk and Kherson) The information is either based on the direct observation of MSF teams or on what MSF patients and local health staff have reported to them While these accounts provide only a snapshot of the devastation caused by the war they bear witness to the suffering of the civilian population Since the escalation of the war in February 2022 MSF has scaled up its humanitarian activities in Ukraine with an emphasis on support for people living near the frontline where the humanitarian and medical needs are most acute This support has taken the form of surgical and emergency room care evacuating patients to medical facilities further from the frontline providing essential medicines and medical equipment and providing physiotherapy and mental healthcare Following the frontline’s shift toward the southeast MSF teams assessed the medical and humanitarian needs of people in 161 towns and villages that had been caught between shifting frontlines in Donetsk and Kherson regions The aim was to provide medical treatment for those still living in the contested territory; often the medical teams worked as close as 12 km from the frontline What they witnessed was a pattern of devastation: homes schools and hospitals reduced to rubble by incessant shelling and bombing MSF medical teams could not find a single building left with the structural integrity to serve as a makeshift clinic; in the end they repurposed imported shipping containers as clinics They followed this practice in 10 different villages in Kherson and Donetsk regions some of the villages in Kherson and Donetsk regions have undergone two or three changes of control between the two sides In the battle for villages like Drobysheve it is very likely that the destruction arose from the use of heavy artillery by both sides leaving little respite for those caught in the middle “In some of the towns and villages where we work there are perhaps just one or two instances where I’ve seen similar devastation – places like Mosul or Grozny Along the 1,000 km of frontline in Ukraine some areas have simply been wiped off the map.” Christopher Stokes | MSF Head Of Programs In Ukraine In areas of Kherson region retaken by Ukrainian forces, 89 medical facilities have been damaged beyond functioning.[5] Based on the towns and villages where these facilities were, and taking into account the number of people who have been displaced, this leaves more than 163,000 people[6] with no access to medical facilities MSF medical workers were already seeing attacks on healthcare infrastructure using various weapons MSF medical teams witnessed the apparent impact of cluster munitions on hospitals another MSF team witnessed similar damage in Apostolove hospital directorate This was a functioning hospital which had come under fire during the night Once again there were hundreds of holes in the hospital building and ground and fragments of shrapnel in the clinic and surrounding area medical activities were suspended by the director of the hospital and MSF medical teams for several days until the area had been decontaminated and confirmed safe effectively denying patients access to medical care in case of emergency MSF was able to reach numerous medical facilities located in former Russian-occupied areas in both Kherson and Donetsk regions MSF medical teams discovered that the facilities had been looted while medical vehicles including ambulances had been destroyed Inside two of these facilities they saw weapons and explosives While the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure by shelling and airstrikes has been well-documented in this war MSF also witnessed three separate instances of the presence of anti-personnel landmines inside functioning hospital compounds – on Oct These medical facilities were in areas previously under Russian occupation in Kherson “The use of landmines is widespread in frontline areas but to see them actually placed in medical facilities is shocking – a remarkable act of inhumanity It sends a clear message to those who come in search of medicines or treatments: hospitals are not a safe place.” Vincenzo Porpiglia | MSF Project Coordinator For Donetsk Region A further fatal illustration of the dangers faced by healthcare facilities and providers was exemplified by the shelling of Kherson city’s main square on Dec where MSF had previously established a mobile medical clinic but stopped activities because of the danger of shelling the Ukrainian Red Cross resumed mobile medical clinics; when the site was hit MSF’s medical teams provided around 11,000 consultations to people in towns and villages in formerly Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk and Kherson regions These teams observed that people who had been unable to flee had few options for accessing healthcare The majority (65 per cent) of patients were older less mobile or suffering from chronic diseases Often these chronic diseases had gone untreated for several months while food shortages had prevented them from controlling their diets MSF conducted 48 interviews with patients and health practitioners who described access to essential medicines and medical care being severely restricted during the Russian occupation This corroborated reports from many more private consultations between MSF staff and patients According to the patients and health practitioners those medical facilities and pharmacies that were not destroyed were looted while the supply of medicines was not assured by the occupying forces “Only a few doctors and medical staff remained in the hospital when Russian troops entered our town People with shrapnel injuries were brought to the hospital every day Gradually we were running out of medical supplies I had to go to the Russians and tell them that we had nothing to treat people with which are needed for people with serious injuries who are being treated in intensive care and cannot get up We had to soak these catheters in special solutions and then reuse them We didn’t even have urine collection bags and used bottles instead There was also a pressing need for medicines for people with diabetes and high blood pressure Most of the people who stayed behind were elderly and had chronic diseases (…) Once the Russians told us: ‘Write down the list of medicines we will give you everything.’ I must have given them those lists 10 times The list consisted of 86 items and they gave us only 16 – bandages syringes and a few medications such as painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills The difficulties of obtaining medicines and accessing medical care is further corroborated by messages sent by mobile phone between MSF medical teams and Ukrainian doctors and nurses working in Russian-occupied areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions who made repeated requests to be supplied with essential medicines MSF was able to fulfill a limited number of these requests with the support of Ukrainian volunteer organisations who worked to move essential medicines and supplies from Ukrainian-held territory to areas under Russian military control The only officially authorised crossing point at the frontline was in Vasylivka the flow of supplies entering Russian-occupied areas from Ukraine was impeded and MSF teams had no option but to stop sending medical supplies some people survived for months without essential medicines in areas with fierce fighting; many were visibly weakened by their experiences which frequently included seeing their villages turned into battlegrounds relentless shelling and the disappearance and death of family members “I treated a man who needed a dressing for his wound but he didn’t have anything for months He just washed and reused the dressing.” Doctor | Mobile Clinic Team Patients told MSF that their ability to obtain treatment from medical facilities was curtailed by a number of factors villagers were not allowed to leave their streets for months at a time Because of the destruction of healthcare facilities people needing emergency care had to travel much longer distances than before A 65-year-old female patient from Borozenske village in Kherson region described how she had to accompany her husband through 12 checkpoints to an emergency medical consultation while the area was under Russian occupation: “Borozenske outpatient clinic was severely damaged during the occupation All the computers and equipment were stolen my husband slipped from a ladder and badly injured his foot We contacted the doctor who used to work at the clinic but he couldn’t help us – he didn’t have any more medicines or equipment so he recommended that we go to Berislav hospital It’s 50 km away from Borozenske and we needed to cross 12 Russian checkpoints to reach the hospital We had to get back to Borozenske before the imposed curfew access to healthcare was not a priority for people unless it was a matter of life or death.” Although it is difficult to discern a clear pattern the interviews conducted with MSF patients indicate that the treatment of civilians and their access to healthcare under Russian occupation depended on the unpredictable behaviour of individual Russian units Numerous MSF patients described asking occupation authorities for assistance and for medicines Sometimes requests for assistance were flatly refused people were asked to write lists of the medicines required Patients indicated that the behaviour of Russian units varied widely with some actively working to treat wounded civilians and ensure the provision of medicine while others looted pharmacies and medical facilities medical practitioners who previously lived in areas occupied by Russian forces described to MSF teams the treatment they received at the hands of soldiers One doctor working in a facility currently supported by MSF described his experiences:  “Russian soldiers came to my house to arrest me They took me to the administrative department They told me they want the hospital staff to collaborate with them They ordered me to stop speaking Ukrainian I was eventually released but the soldiers came back a week later They handcuffed me in front of all the hospital staff They forced me into a vehicle and took me to the basement of my home where they beat me again They kept the keys to my house and took me to the Russian-occupied police station I was put in a cell in the basement for half an hour before a soldier met me and told me I had a few hours to leave the area or else they would kill me I was told not to return to the hospital or speak with any of the staff They sat me in my car and followed me in the direction of the grey zone I made it across the fields to the Ukrainian armed forces I showed them the cuts and bruises caused by the handcuffs on my hands and they helped me cross to controlled territory to reach my family.” The level of destruction in the war in Ukraine has been massive crippling medical infrastructure in the process This will have a long-term impact on people’s access to healthcare patients who lived in territories occupied by Russia since the February 2022 invasion reported severe restrictions on their access to essential medicines and medical facilities as well as the looting of hospitals and pharmacies Their reports are consistent with the medical condition of many MSF patients many of whom went without treatment for months Warring parties must respect international humanitarian law and abide by their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure; hospitals and other healthcare facilities must never be targets Warring parties must allow the unobstructed supply of lifesaving medicines and medical supplies and provide safe and unhindered access to independent humanitarian assistance for those in need we have significantly scaled up and reoriented our activities to respond to the needs created by the war in Ukraine Our medical services include emergency surgery We also run a fleet of ambulances and a specialist medical evacuation train; in 2022 [1] Source: UN OCHA [2] Source: IOM [3] Source: UNHCR [4] Source: Institute for the Study of War [5] Source: Kherson Regional Authorities [6] Source: Kherson Regional Authorities [7] https://www.msf.org/msf-team-witnesses-hospital-bombing-mykolaiv doctorswithoutborders.caDOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS / MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES (MSF) CANADA 551 Adelaide Street West Toronto Canada M5V 0N8 Charitable registration: # 13527 5857 RR0001 Fill out the form to download posters and fundraising toolkits that will help you with your fundraising initiative for MSF Home page » Topics » National Minorities » Koreans of Ukraine The Korean community in Ukraine began to burgeon at the beginning of the 20th century Tens of thousands of ethnic Koreans endured many ordeals before finding a home in Ukraine In the early 1900s they were first forcefully resettled to the Sakhalin island by Japanese authorities and then again in 1937 they were deported to Central Asia Mass resettlement of ethnic Koreans to the territory of Ukraine began in the 1960s when they moved to southern Ukraine to rent fertile lands in the region for farming many Koreans have also moved to the big Ukrainian cities in order to obtain a higher education Numbers vary amongst the various data sources but between 20 to over 40 thousand Koreans inhabit Ukraine today; mostly living in the south of the country Despite the considerable assimilation – a product of the Soviet policy towards the national minorities – today the Koreans of Ukraine are doing their best to revive their language and culture «Koreada» is a unique roving festival celebrating Korean culture in Ukraine it has been taking place every autumn in different regions of Ukraine the festivities are carried out in big cities but this year it was decided to pick a small town to host the event has the highest concentration of Korean residents in the Podniprovia and Zaporizhzhia regions among the performers were dance companies from countries such as Korea the dancer Marina Li had seen Korean traditional dances and together with colleagues decided to establish a Korean traditional dance company “Toradi” — At the beginning we didn’t have a place for rehearsals or even the necessary basic knowledge for how to dance at all Our first dances we’d learn from videotapes or some materials found by chance the Korean embassy in Kyiv arranged a volunteer to come and teach us the basics of Korean traditional dance Since then the “Toradi” ensemble has performed at the festival every year that though the ensemble’s lineup has changed several times eventually the participants come together to continue researching dance: We just really want to keep developing our ensemble Her grandparents were forcefully deported from Central Asia They do not speak Korean everyday within the family and Marina says her Korean is not good enough Marina Li works at the theater “Dyvnyi zamok” (“Strange castle”) and teaches theater art at a private school “Toradi” dances the widest variety of traditional Korean dances out of all the Korean dance ensembles in Ukraine the ensemble has a range of dances performed to the beats of traditional Korean drums These dances date back to ancient shaman rituals where every movement along with the sound of the drums were full of meaning the drums became vital in Buddhist and Confucian temples — The sound of these drums is believed to heal they would be placed in the middle of a circle of drums The rhythms of the drums would lift the person’s life energy and help with recovery The dancers in “Toradi” have even travelled to South Korea to learn new dances such as the Janggu Chum (장구춤) a dance with sandglass-shaped drums and the Chaesang Sogochum (채상 소고춤) Performers try to enrich their repertoire with new dances that mix traditional and modern styles together dances where the dancers use lanterns are actually not considered traditional but rather are modern dances inspired by traditional movements and accompanied by traditional music Costumes for “Toradi” performances are either handmade by the dancers themselves or brought from abroad “Hanbok” is the general term for traditional Korean clothing Women’s attire consists of a skirt (“chima”) and a short long-sleeved blouse (“jeogori”) All the costumes are variations of this set there is a dance that emphasizes the sleeves and so the ensemble wears a more sumptuous costume which also symbolizes the beauty and grandeur of the royal court a hat and a string of beads are necessary additions And for the dance with sandglass-shaped drums the dancer wraps a piece of fabric around his or her waist so all the movements and jumps go smoothly Though Marina runs the ensemble on a voluntary basis for her it is a big passion as she cherishes the traditions of her family and her people: And art is something from deep within oneself The community keeps the culture not only through dance but also through traditional holidays celebrated together within the family Marina says that in every Korean family the first birthday of a child is especially celebrated as it is believed that on this day a child chooses his or her destiny The 60th birthday is also considered a special birthday and is festively celebrated since it is believed that a person passes five life cycles before their 60th year Marina Li’s family gathers every year to celebrate Lunar New Year according to Korean traditions As a result of 1904-1905 Russo — Japanese war Japan occupied the southern part of Sakhalin island The Japanese Empire actively pursued a colonization policy at that time and by 1910 Korea had completely fallen under its rule the northern (Russian) part of Sakhalin island was also occupied by Japan Japan actively started resettling Koreans from the North of the country to the island to build airports Everything changed during World War II when the Soviet authorities issued a decree “On the expulsion of the Korean population from the border areas of the Far East (Southern Asia — ed.) region” 172 thousand ethnic Koreans were forcefully resettled to the desert and other uninhabited areas of Kazakhstan and Central Asia One of the reasons for this was their alleged espionage and collaboration with Japan despite the fact that Koreans suffered under Japanese occupation After Japan was defeated in World War II in 1945 Sakhalin island was transferred to the USSR Korea was divided between the two countries that fought against Japan: the northern part was taken by the Soviet Union deported Koreans had never made it back home Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan they also cultivated the land they worked hard to change virgin lands into collective farms the biggest Korean community lived in Uzbekistan Here the act of forceful resettlement was never adopted which meant that such people had no right to education or work This led part of the Koreans population there to emigrate to other Soviet republics In 1967 the Koreans began resettling to Ukraine They came as seasonal agricultural workers for example to plant onions and watermelons it became possible to freely move between the Soviet republics and Kan Den Sik arrived in Ukraine to apply to the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute he decided to stay in Ukraine and is currently the president of the Association of the Koreans of Ukraine and the head of the Korean Cultural Center Kan Den Sik organized the Korean division at the Kyiv National Linguistic University The division continued to develop and in 2017 it even became its own separate department of Korean philology Den Sik founded the Korean Cultural Center was and became its president: — I just had to do it (start a cultural center — ed.) Kan Den Sik says that for a long time he didn’t speak any Korean at all But once Ukraine and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992 Korean speakers were in high demand and his Korean skills became of use: — I speak fluent Korean and I know Korean culture very well who moved to Sakhalin island at the time of Japanese rule in Korea while I finished secondary school (in Russian — ed.) Today Korean is a very popular and high demand language around the world: it is one of the top-10 most spoken languages worldwide This is due to the economic boom in South Korea and popularity of modern Korean culture which includes famous dramas and tv series of Korean cinema Import revenue of Korean cultural products today is bigger than the profits of globally known Samsung there are still few people in Ukraine who speak Korean well They are not many even amongst Kan Den Sik’s colleagues He explains that here mostly live fourth and fifth generation Koreans descendants of those who resettled from Sakhalin island and former Soviet republics Neither Japan nor the Soviet Union supported Korean language and culture so Ukrainian Koreans almost do not speak it — This (learning Korean — ed.) is a problem This is the biggest problem we are trying to solve today there are Korean language schools in Kyiv in Kharkiv there is specialized “Dyonsuri” secondary school that teaches Korean On a professional level one can learn Korean at the Kyiv Linguistics University and also at Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after Kostiantyn Dmytrovych Ushynsky and in Dnipro University of Customs and Finance offer Korean as an elective course — Our Association is a member of the Council of the National Communities of Ukraine For many years we’ve been asking authorities to at least give us a facility Unfortunately the issue is still not solved and we do not have a place where different communities could gather but every time we have to worry about simple things like the venue Ukraine has given me everything: I have grown here as a person is preparing for this year’s “Koreada” in a unique way — in the kitchen Their job is to cook traditional Korean dishes for all those attending the festival Korean aubergine salad is called “gaji he” carrot is prepared in the same way as the cucumbers the same steps are followed but with Chinese cabbage “Siriaktimuri” is a traditional Korean soup It contains finely chopped green Chinese cabbage and meat The essential ingredient is a traditional spice called “tyai” Svitlana and Ernest were both born in Tashkent (the capital of Uzbekistan — ed.) Svitlana’s parents were also born in Tashkent while her grandparents were from the Primorsky region Svitlana and Ernest were traveling back and forth to Korea for work in the 1980s they began going to Ukraine for work Svitlana and Ernest came to visit her and decided to stay in Ukraine The couple admits the tastiest potatoes they have ever tried are in Ukraine: Ukrainian borshch (a traditional soup made of beetroot) His friend’s grandmother even taught me how to make it… Svitlana Khan and Ernest Kim’s three children currently work in South Korea Svitlana says that one or two people in almost every Ukrainian Korean family When Svitlana and Ernest visited their children in Korea and tried the modern Korean cuisine they admit that they missed Ukrainian food: while here (in Korea — ed.) the food just does not taste right they have lived in Ukraine for over twenty years now How can I leave my child without his mother tongue Our grandson has a very mixed national heritage: his great grandmother is pure Turkish his great grandfather is Ossetian (or Chechen) and so his grandmother is Turkish and Ossetian His last name however is Tkachuk (a typical Ukrainian last name) And such a small territory is home to 52 million people And over 8 million Koreans live around the world Though Ukrainians need visas to go to Korea Ethnic Koreans can get five-year working visas to Korea The couple from Apostolove does not want to resettle in Korea since they feel at home in Ukraine Involved in the preparation of the material 13 volunteers Project support: Fundacja Euromaidan-Warszawa Use of materials is only permitted upon providing the source: Ukrainer.net Дизайн — Артем Зубкевич Розробка — Deluxcode Kyiv/Brussels – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reveals the massive and widespread destruction of health facilities in Ukraine and the severe impediments to medical care under Russian military occupation.  We urge all warring parties to uphold international humanitarian law and their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and to ensure unhindered access to life-saving medicines and medical supplies for people in need Following the escalation of war in February 2022 MSF teams assessed the medical and humanitarian needs of people in 161 towns and villages in the Donetsk and Kherson regions to provide medical assistance to those living near the frontlines Despite requests to work on both sides of the frontline our teams are only able to operate in areas under Ukrainian control and our observations are limited to those areas.  In some of the towns and villages where we work the destruction was absolute,” says Christopher Stokes “Along the 1,000 km of frontline in Ukraine some areas have simply been wiped off the map,” says Stokes MSF medical workers had already witnessed attacks on healthcare infrastructure in Mykolaiv in April and in Apostolove in June our teams witnessed the apparent effects of cluster munitions on hospitals leaving medical activities suspended for several days and effectively depriving patients of access to medical care.  our teams also discovered the presence of anti-personnel landmines inside functioning hospitals in areas previously under Russian occupation in the regions of Kherson but to see them placed in medical facilities is shocking: a remarkable act of inhumanity,” says Vincenzo Porpiglia “It sends a clear message to those who come in search of medicines or treatments: hospitals are not a safe place,” says Porpiglia MSF medical teams have also discovered that several medical facilities located in former Russian occupied areas in both Kherson and Donetsk region had been looted Accounts from healthcare workers and patients who lived under Russian occupation indicated severe restriction of access to essential medicines These accounts were corroborated by MSF’s medical records following 11,000 consultations (November 2022 – February 2023) Our medical teams frequently had to treat patients for chronic conditions that went untreated for several months people were not able to access healthcare mainly due to movement restrictions because of the massive destruction of health facilities or as a result of the unpredictable behaviour of some Russian units.  Patients also reported that surviving medical facilities and pharmacies were looted and that the supply of medicines was not systematically assured by occupying forces The interviews conducted are consistent with the medical diagnosis of many MSF patients that went untreated for months MSF reminds warring parties of their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure Hospitals and other healthcare facilities must never be targets Warring parties must also allow the unobstructed supply of life-saving medicines medical supplies and provide safe and unhindered access to independent humanitarian assistance for those in need Read the full briefing note Beyond Enemy Lines