Unbroken
The physical and psychological rehabilitation of the conflict’s wounded soldiers
Photo by Sandro Maddalena
From the very first moments after the Russian invasion, the flow of people fleeing the war headed to western Ukraine. They either wanted to reach Europe or settle in a less dangerous part of the country. The city of Lviv soon took on the role of logistical capital of the resistance, welcoming hundreds of thousands of displaced people and becoming the entry point for humanitarian aid from abroad and the main distribution center for goods directed to the places under siege. One year on, in addition to the consolidated role as a hub city, Lviv and the surrounding areas have become an essential point of reference for the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers. Although there are no official data, due to the precise wishes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which does not want to demoralize citizens, it is clear to everyone that the number of seriously wounded in the armed forces is very high, even when compared with that of the first year of the war in Donbas. In all likelihood, tens of thousands of soldiers have lost a limb or have motor problems due to spinal injuries or neurological trauma. With the war showing no sign of diminishing in its intensity and the Bakhmut front alone producing dozens of
wounded every day, it is safe to assume that more and more soldiers will need to go to specialized rehabilitation facilities. In order to cope with this situation, the Lviv region is investing a lot of resources in upgrading existing structures and creating new ones. The Halychyna center has been around for years and is probably the most important of its kind in western Ukraine. This is because it follows all phases of the rehabilitation process, including the production of prostheses. Unbroken, on the other hand, is a new, modern and ambitious project: it’s already operational but is still in the finalization phase. Once completed, it will be the largest rehabilitation facility in Europe. In addition to these major complexes, there are other excellent institutions. These include the Modrici rehabilitation center, which treats patients with particularly serious neurological traumas, and the DoloniDotyk association, which opened in May last year and is achieving positive results through hippotherapy, even for soldiers with severe disabilities.
(2023)
