Kharkiv, Odessa, Kiev… Bombings have intensified in recent weeks in Ukraine, reaching a level of violence rarely seen since the start of the war. Residential areas have been targeted, hospitals attacked and schools destroyed. In Kiev, “one of the worst attacks since the beginning of the conflict”, according to Ukrainian head of state Volodimir Zelensky, caused the death of 16 people and injured more than 100 others in one night. Fragments of cluster bombs, banned under international law, were found among the rubble.
On the front line, civilians pay the highest price: women, men and children. Lives are turned upside down in a fraction of a second. And for the survivors, the long road of physical and psychological reconstruction begins.
Support to get back on her feet: Tetyana’s story
One of the victims was Tetyana, from Izioum in the Kharkiv region. On her way to fetch wood, she jumped on a mine laid near her home. She lost her right leg.
Treated at our rehabilitation centre for war-wounded in Vinnytsia, she received a prosthesis and began a rehabilitation programme with Mehad’s physiotherapists. After a recent stroke, she is now back at the centre for a new phase of rehabilitation.
His story is similar to that of hundreds of people we accompany every month.
A centre to pick yourself up after the unthinkable
Since the opening of our rehabilitation programme in Ukraine, more than 20,000 rehabilitation sessions have been carried out by our teams. Our patients are often amputees, sometimes with multiple traumas. They all need to learn to walk again and rebuild their lives. Our approach is comprehensive: medical care, psychological support and assistance with reintegration.
But in the face of intensifying attacks and falling international aid, our capacities are being severely tested. Needs are exploding. Resources are dwindling.
A gesture to rebuild lives
This month, Mehad is mobilising more than ever for the war-wounded in Ukraine. Every donation, every support, enables our teams to continue their work with civilian victims.
