The Ministry of Health and its partners carried out one of the fastest medical evacuations of an adolescent patient abroad
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine, in collaboration with its partners, conducted one of the fastest medical evacuations of an adolescent patient abroad—just over 48 hours elapsed from the time the injury was sustained to her arrival at a clinic in Germany. The evacuation was carried out under the Medevac Ukraine program. Similar to previous cases reported over Christmas, this outcome was achieved through the collaborative efforts of many specialists.
On the evening of January 2, in Kyiv, a 16-year-old girl fell into a hot water pit caused by a rupture in the heat network. The emergency medical team transported the adolescent patient to Kyiv City Children's Clinical Hospital No. 1, where she arrived in critical condition.
As explained by Mykola Trykash, head of the Department of Anesthesiology with Intensive Care Beds at Kyiv City Children’s Clinical Hospital No. 1, the girl was immediately admitted to the anesthesiology and intensive care unit. Doctors stabilized her condition, placed her on a ventilator, and performed initial wound treatment and dressings. This enabled them to assess the depth and surface area of the burns: second- and third-degree burns affected 75% of her body.
Due to the established cooperation between specialists from the hospital’s burn unit and their colleagues from children’s burn centers in Cologne and Zurich, a consultation regarding the patient’s further treatment was held later that same evening. Ukrainian doctors also initiated the process of evacuating the adolescent patient abroad. At the same time, concerns remained that burn centers in Germany and Switzerland might be overwhelmed following a tragic incident in Switzerland on January 1. However, on the morning of January 3, the clinic in Cologne confirmed its readiness to admit the patient for treatment.
The team from the Coordination Center for Medical Evacuation Abroad under the Ministry of Health of Ukraine submitted a request through a specialized electronic system, which was promptly approved by the German side.
The girl was transported by professional teams from the Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Center for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine of the Ministry of Health, as well as the charitable organization “Artesans ResQ UA.” The patient's condition remained critical.
“Colleagues arrived from Dnipro and carefully assessed their own capabilities and the patient's condition. On January 4, at 4:45 a.m., the vehicle transporting the child departed from our hospital. By 2:00 p.m., an aircraft was already waiting for her in Rzeszów, and around 6:00 p.m., colleagues in Cologne informed us that the girl had arrived in critical but stable condition and was being prepared for immediate surgery. This is the result of coordinated efforts among specialists in Kyiv and Cologne, the Ministry of Health, the Medevac Ukraine program, the emergency medical services system, and partners from Artesans ResQ. Such collaboration enables us to save precious time, which is crucial for patients like her.”
Since the first months of russia's full-scale invasion, the European Commission, together with foreign governments, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and with support from the World Health Organization, has been providing medical treatment to Ukrainians abroad under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Treatment is provided free of charge to patients and is funded by the governments of the host countries.
Over the course of more than 3.5 years of operation, the Medevac Ukraine program has assisted 6,290 Ukrainians, primarily service members and veterans. And within this total, 149 patients sustained burn injuries. In 2025, 1,240 Ukrainians affected by the war received free medical treatment and rehabilitation abroad.
In 2023, an oil spill into a river in the Ivano-Frankivsk oblast (region) affected both adults and children. Two boys were in extremely critical condition, with burns covering more than 85% of their body surface area. Typically, patients with injuries of this severity have very low chances of survival, regardless of the country where they receive treatment. Nevertheless, specialists at a clinic in Cologne undertook their treatment. The children are still undergoing rehabilitation today, but the most important outcome is that they survived. Between 2024 and 2025, the Cologne clinic treated five severely burned children from Ukraine, giving them a chance to survive.