Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, one of Ukraine’s largest medical facilities was damaged after an attack on 25 October. Ukraine, October 2024. © MSF
This latest attack damaged over 20 apartment buildings. Among the impacted structures was Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, one of Ukraine’s largest medical facilities, which MSF has been closely working with since 2022.Thomas Marchese, Chief Emergency Coord.
This hospital serves as a lifeline for the sick and injured from frontline settlements, where access to specialised medical care is severely limited due to the ongoing hostilities. Critically wounded patients are brought here by ambulance, and displaced families from war hotspots such as Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, Kurakhove also come here for care. Many patients requiring urgent, complex treatment are transported to Dnipro, with Doctors Without Borders ambulance teams actively supporting transfers between hospitals.
Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro serves as a vital lifeline for the sick and injured from frontline communities, where ongoing hostilities have severely limited access to specialized medical care. Ukraine, October 2024. © MSF
Doctors Without Borders teams report an alarming escalation in hostilities in Ukraine, with civilian areas increasingly coming under fire. Doctors Without Borders team has witnessed the attacks on Selydove, Kherson and the Okhmatdyt Children’s hospitals. People do not feel safe, even in hospital wards, often woken by sirens warning of imminent attacks. The number of Ukrainians experiencing severe traumatic stress from living amid constant destruction grows by the hour. Treatment is nearly impossible, as there is rarely a safe space where patients can receive stable care.
In eastern Ukraine, we operate mobile clinics providing essential medical and psychological support to people affected by the war. We also support hospitals overwhelmed by high numbers of casualties. Additionally, Doctors Without Borders operates 18 ambulances near the frontline, dedicated to the medical evacuation of war-wounded patients. In 2024, Doctors Without Borders ambulances transported over 8,000 patients, 60% of whom sustained injuries from violent trauma. Among them, the teams transferred 136 patients under the age of 18, including 38 children requiring ICU transport. The oldest patient was 98 years old, while the youngest was just 3 days old.
