Médecins sans frontières (MSF) fears the worst for Ukrainian civilians under the fire of Russian bombardments. His teams are unable to supply hospitals in Mariupol, a port city in southeastern Ukraine destroyed by intense fighting. A pediatric hospital center was bombed there on Wednesday. Ukrainian caregivers, joined by The dutyare calling for a no-fly zone over their country in order to put an end to the strikes.
The president of MSF Switzerland, Stephen Cornish, is sounding the alarm. The situation is “abominable” and “extremely worrying” in Mariupol. “The violence is at a very, very acute level,” he said in a telephone interview. Now it’s a battle just for survival, to find a few bread crumbs, some potatoes or some water. »
An MSF team is there and is holed up in a shelter, like the civilian population. She is no longer able to circulate in the city to distribute medical equipment, oxygen and medicines to hospitals. “It is against the rules of war not to allow humanitarian aid to pass and not to ensure the protection of civilians”, denounces Stephen Cornish.
To learn more about the war in Ukraine
Attacks by the Russian army against Ukrainian hospitals are increasing, reports the president of the Association of Nurses of Ukraine, with whom The duty spoke on the telephone with the help of an interpreter. “For the past few days, we have seen that Russian troops are starting to bombard health establishments more, which is very worrying,” says Tetyana Chernyshenko in Ukrainian.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, around 60 hospitals have been damaged since the start of the war. The Mariupol pediatric hospital was reportedly “completely destroyed” on Wednesday. The bombing would have injured 17, only hospital staff (no children) – information that we could not cross-check.
No-fly zone requested
The Dr Serhii Danylkov, a doctor working in the Kyiv region, fell victim to the shelling. His residence, located near the capital, was destroyed, as was the hospital in his town, Boutcha. He had to flee west by car with his wife and children, a long and traumatic journey. “1 km from my house, we saw two cars that had been the target of artillery fire,” he says. The people on board were dead. »
The family escaped the journey unscathed and are in Poland. He returned to lend a hand in Ternopil, a city in the west of the country. He works as a volunteer in a warehouse for sorting and distributing food and materials. His mother-in-law remained in Boutcha. His state of health did not allow him to travel in these conditions. The family is without news, communication links are cut. “We are very sad about this,” he said.
The Dr Serhii Danylkov trusts the Ukrainian armed forces, but he believes that the imposition of a no-fly zone is essential to stop the Russian bombardments. “We need political support,” he said. This is not a war in Ukraine. It’s a third world war. »
The Dr Honcharenko, a pediatric surgeon who works in a hospital in Kiev, also advocates closing airspace to Russian planes. The bombings are responsible for the “vast majority of the victims” of this war, according to him. He himself had to treat children injured during the conflict.
The doctor wants to withhold his first name for security reasons and to protect his family — the name Honcharenko is relatively common in Ukraine. According to him, the situation remains under control in his hospital center, despite the difficult working conditions. “Most of my colleagues live in the hospital,” he says. Some of them have lost their homes, others cannot return because the roads and bridges [reliant Kiev aux banlieues] were destroyed. »
Sick children and their parents have to live permanently in the basement of the hospital. “Some patients cannot be moved from a department to the basement all the time,” he explains. On average, there are about 10 to 15 warning sirens per day. »
In the streets of Kiev, MSF teams nevertheless manage to circulate, according to Stephen Cornish. The non-governmental organization has so far delivered to Ukraine “surgical kits for more than 200 wounded”, he said. Trucks also recently crossed the Polish border with 110 tons of equipment, mostly medical. Others were in the process of doing so Wednesday morning.
According to Tetyana Chernyshenko, Ukrainian hospitals mainly need sterile equipment and materials as well as various drugs for pain, bleeding and heart problems.
Canadians there to help
Ukrainian refugees also need care at Poland’s borders. Val Rzepka, a Polish-born Toronto nurse, is part of a team of volunteers from the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario and the Canadian Medical Assistance Team. Arriving in Poland on Saturday, she is taking part in setting up a project aimed at helping Ukrainians fleeing their country.
His team will focus on orphaned children. According to Val Rzepka, these young people, often disabled, suffer from exhaustion, malnutrition and dehydration when they arrive in Poland. Some are pushed in wheelchairs for 20 to 30 kilometers. “Many of them need to be hospitalized to recover from the trip,” she says.
The Dr Julien Auger, a doctor at Saint-Jérôme Hospital, treats refugees in Hrebenne, a Polish town on the border with Ukraine. “They can be dehydrated, he also observes. Sometimes they come with high blood pressure because they haven’t taken their medication for 24 hours and they don’t have any. »
The doctor, father of two young children, does not intend to go to Ukraine. “I don’t come here for the adrenaline,” he says. I basically wanted to help and make myself useful. As long as I’m useful, I’ll stay a little longer. »