Mother of two-year-old cancer patient describes moment Russian missile hit Okhmatdyt hospital – video

Two-year-old Dmytro is a patient at the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. He was there when it was struck by a Russian missile.

The story of the little boy, who is battling cancer, was told by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

Dmytro will turn three in a month and a half.

On 3 June 2024 Dmytro, together with his mother Oksana, was admitted to the infectious diseases department with suspected mononucleosis, a viral disease caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.

Doctors examined the young patient in order to rule out cancer.

"Sadly, cancer was confirmed. On 20 June we were transferred to the oncohematology department," says Dmytro’s mother, Oksana Haliak.

Oksana explained that the children’s treatment involves being hooked up to an IV that cannot be disconnected, so it is physically difficult to move such patients to a bomb shelter.

How love and courage can overcome the scariest circumstances

When the Russians attacked the hospital, most of the patients were undergoing procedures.

"When the first explosion occurred in the Lukianivka district, the nurses responded and started moving the patients to a relatively secure location.

When Okhmatdyt was struck directly, our building was damaged. But, thank God, our department was in a different wing. We heard a powerful explosion, and there was a power cut.

The nurses remained calm and started quickly disconnecting children from IVs and taking them to the shelter," Oksana recalls.

After the attack was over, everyone was taken outside – and the parents and children saw the extent of the devastation with their own eyes.

All the patients from the oncohematology department were rapidly transferred to the Cancer Institute in Kyiv.

"We are grateful to the management of the Institute for allowing our paediatricians to work there with their little patients. But due to the considerable damage, and specifically the loss of vital equipment, Okhmatdyt cannot provide treatment in full. Now we have to go abroad to continue the treatment," Oksana explains.

The Ministry of Health notes that it has received many offers of free treatment abroad for the children from various countries and international organisations. The first three little patients have been sent to Austria and Switzerland.

Background: 

• One of the buildings of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital has been destroyed beyond repair as a result of a large-scale Russian missile attack on the city of Kyiv on 8 July. Several other buildings were damaged.
• Doctors said many children were injured by shards of glass. In total, 627 patients were at the Okhmatdyt hospital when it was struck.
• Medics carried injured children to safety, ignoring their own injuries. One such doctor is Oleh Holubchenko, a paediatric surgeon at Okhmatdyt.

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