Two wounded evacuated by MSF as bombardment hits civilian areas in Sloviansk

A nine-year-old boy was injured during the bombardment of Sloviansk city, Donetsk region, by Russian forces on 6 April. He was referred by an MSF ambulance from a local hospital to a hospital in Kharkiv, where he received specialised diagnostics and treatment. He was accompanied by his mother during the medical transfer.

The attack took place in the middle of the day, when adults and children were outside, local doctors told MSF teams. Civilian areas were hit: one apartment building and 13 private houses were reportedly destroyed. One person was killed and at least four others injured.

“The child has shrapnel wounds to the thigh and torso, and there is a suspected fragment in the knee, which still needs to be assessed,” says MSF paramedic Lina Vorozheina.

During the same response to the attack, the MSF ambulance team also transported another patient wounded in the bombardment.

“The man was outside his house when the bombardment started. He sustained shrapnel injuries to the thigh and torso. He was first taken to a local hospital, and we then transferred him to Dnipro for further treatment. The patient’s condition deteriorated during the journey, requiring the medical team to stabilise him and control the bleeding en route,” says MSF paramedic Rostyslav Lytvyn.

MSF teams continue to witness the impact of intensified attacks on residential areas in eastern Ukraine. Humanitarian workers operate under constant risk. Due to ongoing missile and drone threats, ambulances face restrictions on where and when they can move. MSF continues to evacuate patients from hospitals in Sloviansk to facilities further from the frontline, helping to relieve overstretched medical services coping with a high number of war-wounded patients.