A former city of refuge for nearby towns has come under constant threat, and MSF is working to support the overburdened health care system.
Dobropillia, Donetsk region — less than 20 kilometres from the frontline — has recently faced some of the worst shelling since the escalation of the war in 2022. As attacks continue, MSF teams are working to ensure urgent medical care is available to those caught in the violence.
A former city of refuge now faces frequent attacks
Dobropillia, a city of miners and farmers, was once home to almost 40,000 people. Now, only 20,000 people remain, despite the growing danger. Because of its location, war-wounded and vulnerable people from nearby towns — including Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Kostiantynivka — were evacuated to Dobropillia for emergency medical care. However, now the city is under constant threat.
“People are living under permanent stress,” says Thomas Marchese, MSF Programme Director in Ukraine. “Missile attacks have become more frequent. When sirens go off, people have only seconds to reach shelters — and many elderly people, people with disabilities, or families with children cannot make it in time. Even in basements, they are not completely safe. If a building collapses, people could be trapped under rubble. For the past three years of full-scale war, we’ve witnessed these devastating consequences repeatedly — in Donetsk region, Sumy, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia.”
MSF assisting in medical evacuations
Since 2022, MSF ambulances have been working closely with Dobropillia’s hospital, helping to transport patients to safer facilities further from the frontlines. Following the massive attack at the beginning of March, which killed 11 people and injured at least 50, MSF’s ambulance teams referred 25 patients from Dobropillia to hospitals in Dnipro, five of whom were in critical condition.
Among those evacuated was a woman suffering severe burns to her face and eyes, along with blast injuries and head trauma. She and her husband had briefly left Dobropillia to stay with relatives in Dnipro but returned home to collect belongings — when shelling began.
“There were so many wounded that even the hospital corridors were filled with patients,” says Serhii Tkachenko, MSF feldsher. “[The patient’s] oxygen levels were dangerously low, so we transported her with oxygen support.”
Another patient was a young man with an open fracture to his leg, as well as blast injuries, head, and chest trauma. “He ran to help others after the first explosion but was injured when more shells landed,” says Hennadii Kyslytsia, MSF doctor. “We managed his pain and monitored his vital signs during the referral.”
