More than 2,000 Ukrainian chronically ill and war-wounded have been transferred to hospitals in the EU

BRUSSELS, March 23 (EUROPA PRESS) -

More than 2,000 chronically ill and war-wounded patients have been transferred from Ukraine to hospitals in the European Union since the start of the Russian invasion, in an initiative coordinated by the EU civil protection mechanism in which some twenty European countries, including Spain.

The evacuations are coordinated from the operations center installed in the southeast of Poland, where patients arrive by land and receive medical care until they are transferred by air to other parts of the European Union.

So far, there have been medical evacuations to Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, in addition to from to Norway.

"The brutal Russian invasion has caused enormous damage to the Ukrainian health system, putting the health and lives of citizens at risk," lamented the Health Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, in a statement to take stock of this year of transfers.

The commissioner has detailed that among the patients who arrived in the EU from Ukraine they have thus been able to continue their treatments, as well as receive mental health care and post-traumatic support.

"I want to express my admiration for the commitment and professionalism of the Ukrainian emergency medical teams and of the bordering EU countries for the way in which they have guaranteed safe transfers," he stressed, before concluding that this support will continue "on time it takes."