At YMCA Lviv, we have internal rules in place that require volunteers who are driving to high-risk areas to deliver aid, to wear bulletproof equipment. Additionally, all volunteers are required to carry tourniquets with them at all times.
Volunteers often drive to areas close to the frontline, sometimes as close as 10-15 kilometers from the combat zones, where there is a high risk of the fighting escalating and rocket attacks. There have also been cases of Russian forces shooting at volunteers helping with evacuation of civilians from these areas. [1][2]
“When the Russians bombed the hydro-electric station in Kherson, our volunteers helped people to get away. And when our volunteers helped people, the Russian snipers tried to shoot at them. (…) [So] yes, we need helmets, we need tourniquets.”
– Maria, YMCA Lviv
The importance of lifesaving equipment like tourniquets cannot be stressed enough. When our veteran project manager, Yurko Vovkohon was deployed to the frontline, he managed to survive severe injuries, thanks to the equipment he was carrying:
“I survived only because I had four tourniquets with me. The occupiers outnumber us in artillery by 7-10 times and simply wipe out our cities building by building. When you’re hit by a bullet in a firefight, you still have a chance to crawl away and bandage the wound yourself. But when a shell explodes nearby, fragments fly into all limbs. In 2022, in Lysychansk, a mine explosion severed arteries in both my arms and shattered my leg. The matter of life or death was decided within minutes. Fortunately, I had good certified American CAT tourniquets and reliable comrades. Now every warrior needs to have at least four tourniquets: one for each limb. It’s really important..”
– Yurko Vovkohon, Veteran Project Manager
Naturally, that is why we are aiming to continuosly working to fund for and deliver as much safety equipment as possible to the brave voluntereers at YMCA Lviv, who will also be able to distribute it to those who need it.
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[2]: Kherson flooding: Ukraine evacuation boat attacked by Russia, killing three (bbc.com)