Source: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders
On 24 October, at around 6 pm, a Russian drone struck civilian infrastructure in Synelnykove, Dnipropetrovsk region, some 80 kilometres from the frontline. The strike occurred in an area with homes, cafés and shops, less than one kilometre from a hospital supported by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Four people were killed and more than 13 injured in the attack according to the Ukrainian authorities. The hospital responded to a mass-casualty incident.
“We heard the sound of a drone, and moments later there was a loud explosion. Patients began arriving one after another with blast injuries to their limbs, abdomen, chest and head. Some also had burns. Several patients had severe bleeding and needed emergency surgery. One patient told me he had just stepped out for a coffee, but ended up in hospital with serious injuries,” says Karina Ivanova, an MSF anaesthetist.
Local medical staff, working alongside an MSF anaesthetist and paramedics, treated 15 people, including four with severe injuries. An MSF ambulance transferred two patients — a 50-year-old woman and a 20-year-old woman — to a hospital in Dnipro for specialised surgery.
Some patients, including 11-year-old child, experienced acute stress reactions and received mental health support from local psychologists.
Repeated attacks by Russian forces are killing and wounding civilians in the capital Kyiv, in regions next to the frontlines, and even in towns and cities hundreds of kilometres away in central and western Ukraine. MSF condemns attacks on civilian infrastructure. This is a war against people — against civilians trying to live their everyday lives.
Photos: Attack on Synelnykove, Dnipropetrovsk region
MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. Every year more than 120 Australians and New Zealanders go on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières working as: doctors, midwives, psychologists, laboratory technicians, human resource/finance coordinators, pharmacists, mental health specialists and logisticians. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender.
For more information, visit MSF Australia.