“People were burned alive in their cars near their homes. On the playground, we saw the lifeless bodies of many children – it was heartbreaking,” says Yevhen Blinnikov, an MSF paramedic.

On April 4, Russian forces struck the city of Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region. According to regional authorities, 18 people were killed — including 9 children.

Dozens more were injured in the residential area of the city. Medical teams across the region continue to work relentlessly to save the lives of the most critically wounded.

MSF teams, working alongside state paramedics, provided emergency medical assistance at the scene — stabilising the wounded, delivering urgent care, and arranging referrals to hospitals.

Among the most serious cases was a seven-year-old girl suffering from shrapnel wounds, a fractured hip, and hemorrhagic shock. She was transferred by an MSF ambulance from a local hospital in Kryvyi Rih to a specialised facility in Dnipro for treatment.

Today, MSF is donating medical supplies to the hospital in Kryvyi Rih, which has received a significant influx of wounded. MSF ambulances also remain on standby to support medical referrals, should local hospitals — many of which are overwhelmed — need to transfer patients to specialised facilities.

“We strongly condemn this horrific attack. This merciless war continues to cause immense suffering to civilians. It must end — civilians must never be a target,” said Thomas Marchese, MSF’s Programme Director in Ukraine.