Shelling Damages Project HOPE Ambulance in Ukraine
Russian shelling near the Borova Medical Centre in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine caused significant damage to Project HOPE’s ambulance.
Washington, DC (9 August 2024) – At around 12:30am this morning, Russian troops attacked four settlements in the Kharkiv oblast of Ukraine, injuring multiple civilians and destroying homes. One of Project HOPE’s Critical Care Transport teams – made up of two doctors and a driver – was on shift at the time at the Borova Medical Centre in the Izium region when the shelling began. One missile landed just 50 meters away from the hospital where the team and hospital staff were seeking safety in the basement shelter. Fortunately, no one was injured, but Project HOPE’s ambulance was closer to the blast and sustained significant damage.
“Luckily, we were in the shelter in the basement of the medical center with most of the staff when the shelling happened. This time it was a series of shelling, probably more than ten. The one that hit the ambulance, the closest to us, was the loudest. It was very, very loud and scary for about half an hour,” says Dmytro, Project HOPE’s emergency doctor. “But this is not the first time we have experienced this, so we have had to get accustomed to it as much as possible because we have to do our work. Each of our shifts lasts three days and while on duty, we are almost always in a shelter because there is a high probability of some kind of attack. Drones are flying all the time. We try to stay out of the open and be careful. Of course, we are always a bit nervous in such cases as we are ordinary people and we worry about our lives, our health, and the people around us. We always hope that everyone will be alive and unharmed.”
Overall, Project HOPE is operating nine Critical Care Transport teams in three regions with support from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). These ambulance teams provide care to the critically injured and ill in frontline communities across Ukraine. These teams work under constant risk and danger and can be under fire at any moment. Because of their proximity to the frontline, it is not possible to receive warnings in advance of shelling.
Project HOPE has been working in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, supporting health clinics with supplies and medicines, reconstructing medical facilities, training health workers, and providing mental health support to those impacted by the war. As attacks have intensified, Project HOPE teams have expanded closer to the frontlines to distribute emergency drinking water, operate mobile medical units, and to assess emerging needs.
View photos of the damaged ambulance here. To schedule an interview, please contact media@projecthope.org.
