Ukraine braces for a harsh winter
8.11.2024
Reading time
3 minutes
The shifting frontlines in eastern Ukraine are having tragic effects on civilians. In September alone, over 1,400 civilians were affected – a toll not seen since September 2022. Polish Medical Mission doctors are helping at a transit point for people evacuated from front-line areas and warn that this winter could be the toughest since the beginning of the war.
Russian attacks in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions have forced many people to flee their homes due to immediate danger; in September, 208 civilians were killed, and 1,220 were injured. The indirect effects of the war are also severe: destroyed homes, power and water outages, and lack of basic medical care.
The coming winter will make these challenges even worse. Without water, electricity, or gas, heating is nearly impossible, leaving people at risk of illness from the cold. Many who remain near the front lines are elderly or disabled, unable to leave their homes easily.
Our doctors tell us that this will be the hardest winter since February 2022 – says Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart, the head of the humanitarian aid program at the Polish Medical Mission.
Civilians aren’t the only targets of Russian shelling; in September alone, there were 25 attacks on energy infrastructure and 66 attacks on healthcare facilities. Ukrainian healthcare has been targeted over 2,000 times in this conflict, a record for any war monitored by the WHO. This has severely affected medical care availability near the front, as destroyed facilities and evacuations of healthcare workers make it hard to maintain services. Mobile clinics, such as those run by the Polish Medical Mission, are stepping in to fill this gap.
Our clinics reach towns where there’s no longer a local doctor or clinic. In October alone, we provided nearly 1,500 medical consultations, including 100 psychological consultations, as this war impacts both physical and mental health – adds Olasińska-Chart.
Polish Medical Mission doctors also staff a transit center in Kharkiv for evacuees, and their mobile clinics reach patients in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions. Additionally, a gynecology-pediatric clinic serves internally displaced people in the Kyiv region. Supported by a project co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the organization also aids neonatal units across Ukraine by providing equipment and training.
