The X-ray department of Chernihiv City Hospital No. 3 was damaged on 13 March 2022 as a result of a direct hit by several shells. In October 2023, the building was completed with the help of the UNITED24 fundraising platform and FC Dynamo Kyiv.
Photo: fcdynamo.comOn Friday, Dynamo Vice President Dmitry Brief and Business Development Director Maxim Radutsky visited the hospital. On the occasion of the completion of the restoration work, they presented the X-ray department with a large photo from the charity match against Everton, which raised funds for the major and thorough renovation of the building. The photo depicts Ukrainian IDPs arranged on a makeshift map of Ukraine according to the region from which they moved after the Russian invasion. They were also presented with souvenirs and Dynamo club merchandise.
The gifts were gladly accepted by the hospital's CEO Viktor Yampol, who gladly gave the guests a tour of the department, showed them the beautiful, bright, renovated radiology and computed tomography rooms, the restored equipment and told them how the hospital had to survive three enemy attacks at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, He also shared his memories of staying in the hospital's shelter with the staff, their families, patients, and residents of Chernihiv who were waiting for the enemy to attack - 650 people in total, including 120 children.
He also mentioned the coordinated work of the team of doctors who, after the shelling, cleaned up the broken glass and sealed the windows on their own, strengthening the defences of the hospital building with sandbags. The main thing is that none of the staff or patients were injured, as everyone went to the shelter in time. In addition to the building, the X-ray machine was damaged, but it was restored.
Even during the war, the X-ray department did not stop working for a single moment, treating both civilians and wounded soldiers who sought help around the clock and seven days a week, sparing neither effort nor time.
Moreover, emergency care was provided in all areas - resuscitation, vascular neurology, surgery, etc. And another city hospital was re-profiled to help wounded soldiers. When the shelling damaged its emergency department and trauma centre, the medical staff of Hospital No. 3 lent a hand, and their team of surgeons, traumatologists and other doctors took care of numerous patients.
The corps continued to provide services during the renovation and large-scale reconstruction, as mobile equipment, including mobile X-ray machines, helped to set up workplaces in the corridor.
The medical team of the X-ray department presented the Dynamo guests with a large poster, on the back of which the doctors, nurses and medical staff expressed their gratitude to the club for the tangible assistance in the restoration of their building.
The solemn meeting was attended by Volodymyr Pavlenko, the head of the contractor that carried out the repairs and proved to be a reliable, professional partner with a high-quality range of services, as well as Viktor Rybak and Dmytro Skrypka, the military men who are currently recovering from their injuries in Chernihiv. They presented the Dynamo managers with the flag of Ukraine as a symbol of invincibility. They also handed over a ball and flags to be delivered to our players and signed by them, because, as the military admitted, many soldiers are interested in football and support our club.
It is interesting that Dmytro Skrypka studied at the Yunist Children's and Youth Sports School together with Dynamo's Andriy Yarmolenko, who is from Chernihiv, and they have crossed paths at training many times, so most of the greetings were addressed to him. By the way, Andriy also helped the city hospital No. 3 by purchasing an ambulance for it.
General Director Viktor Yampol told us more about this:
- "We are very pleased that we managed to restore our X-ray diagnostic department, which was completely destroyed during a direct rocket and bomb attack. The external and internal walls, floor slabs, roof and all communications were completely destroyed. There was even talk of mothballing the building for the winter to prevent the destruction from continuing. But fortunately, thanks to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the UNITED24 platform and FC Dynamo Kyiv, the hospital was restored.
The football club provided the main funds, which amounted to UAH 10.2 million. By January 2023, we had completely repaired the broken part, thanks to our contractor, who acted in a coordinated, professional and high-quality manner. This allowed us to save the premises. Since March 2023, the X-ray room has been fully operational. Once again, the main merit of this is Dynamo Kyiv.
We also landscaped the adjacent territory, completely replaced the windows, carried out thermal renovation, that is, insulated the premises, made beautiful entrances and exits. Now everything here is modern, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing, as our patients note, and there is everything needed for people with disabilities, so all the funds went to the benefit of the hospital and its further development.
We are pleased that not only the football club, but also individual players of the team, in particular, Andriy Yarmolenko, helped us, and we received a modern ambulance - an ambulance with a lifting platform - for the hospital. It was filled with medicines and goodies for the staff and the entire team. Later, we were asked by the military to transfer this ambulance to them, as there is a lack of transport to transport wounded soldiers at the front line. So, by the decision of the Executive Committee of the City Council, we temporarily transferred it to the Armed Forces. When it is no longer needed, we will get it back.
Now our next step will be to provide equipment, which has some problems. In particular, we need to buy a CT scanner, which was completely destroyed during the shelling. It will allow our department to meet the requirements of the times, as our hospital provides emergency medical care to the townspeople in the main areas three times a week. And without a CT scanner, the quality of services provided may deteriorate. We have a contract with a private facility, but it is not very convenient to transport patients there. If no one can help us with this, we will have to buy one at the hospital's own expense. We have a room for this purpose - you could see it today, it is completely ready.
Natalia Babkina, the hospital's medical director, thanked the guests for their support and help:
- "During the period of active hostilities, we suffered heavy losses - the destruction of our diagnostic complex. Only through joint efforts, thanks to the UNITED24 platform, FC Dynamo Kyiv, and the Ministry of Health, we are able to remind the society with useful deeds that we are Ukrainians and have an invincible genetic code. By supporting our hospital, you are strengthening the healthcare industry as a whole. Now we can not only provide quality services, but also in comfortable conditions.
Dynamo Vice President Dmitry Brief also shared his impressions of what he saw:
- "When you enter this X-ray department, you don't get the impression that this is a regular state hospital. It looks more like a modern, high-quality private medical centre. We see that all the efforts made by our team were not in vain. So we are satisfied with the work done and the result.
Immediately after the full-scale invasion began, Dynamo could not stand aside and found ways to help our country. That is why we held a series of charity matches under the slogan MATCH FOR PEACE, during which we raised funds to restore social infrastructure. At the final stage, during the match with Everton, our team considered how to invest the funds raised. We signed a memorandum of cooperation and partnership with UNITED24 to invest in the reconstruction of the X-ray department of Chernihiv City Hospital No. 3, which had just received a request for funding. We immediately agreed, as Chernihiv is one of the cities that was the first to hold back the enemy.
We are grateful to the fans, spectators, and business representatives for all the funds that have been accumulated through their donations and our charity matches.
Our cooperation with UNITED24 continues. We are constantly finding new ways to partner, to help Ukraine, our defenders, medical professionals and the social sector in general. In particular, during every Dynamo home match, the club sells charity tickets, the proceeds from which are used for medical aid through the UNITED24 fundraising platform.
It's nice that Dynamo players are also involved in charity initiatives. Of course, this is not surprising, because now every citizen of Ukraine donates and is an investor in the restoration of the state. What is striking is that since the beginning of the war, footballers have been uniting regardless of the clubs they represent, the city they come from, etc. They created a kind of charity fund, held fundraisers, bought cars, equipment and medical supplies for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and sent them to the frontline.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the doctors of this department, who, together with their colleagues from other medical institutions across Ukraine, did not stop their work for a single day during the full-scale invasion, but continued to help the population and the military in need. These people are heroes, and I am sure that together we will win.
- "I have been to many hospitals around the world in my life, and I can say that this unit is no different from similar ones in European countries," said Maxim Radutskiy, Dynamo's Director of Business Development. Unfortunately, not under the conditions we would have liked, but now Chernihiv has a truly European-level X-ray department. I don't know how, but we managed to rebuild it even faster than planned. The doctors who work here are heroes, and the builders who rebuilt it are also heroes, because they managed to do everything they needed in a short time. In fact, everything was built from scratch within a year, as the hospital had survived several direct shell hits. The fact that we managed to rebuild the department is fantastic. I am grateful to the doctors and the city for being among the first to heroically meet the enemy, survive and continue their work.
Andriy Yarmolenko wanted to come with us today, I know how much the military guys were waiting for him, but unfortunately he is recovering from an injury and could not make it, but I hope he will come some other time.
From the very beginning of the war, Dynamo Kyiv has been helping as much as it can and will not stop until victory. We have a large charitable foundation that has already provided various assistance worth tens of millions of euros and continues to do so. This hospital is already the fifth infrastructure facility that Dynamo is taking care of. In addition, the funds raised during one of our team's charity matches against Borussia Dortmund were used to restore the stadium in Chernihiv.
