The maternity hospital in frontline Sloviansk remains the only operational facility of its kind in the entire Donetsk region. Despite ongoing Russian shelling, it continues to function.
The Kharkiv Regional Children’s Hospital took in the abandoned infants from this Sloviansk maternity ward. They were then collected by specialists from the Kramatorsk Antoshka Children’s Home, which has been relocated to Bukovyna. The home cares for children from the Donbas region until they are placed with families or in foster care.
Valentyna Baibak, a social worker at the Kharkiv office, routinely assists the arriving teams. She notes that the most moving aspect is witnessing the dedication of the medical staff. The Kharkiv team from Rokada meets the infants’ guardians, providing escort and assistance as the staff head toward Chernivtsi with the babies.
“The babies are handed over from the maternity ward to the Antoshka Children’s Home. The medical staff there are incredible. They care for these infants with so much love and truly understand all their habits and reactions. We helped them get to the hospital in Kharkiv and then escorted them to the train for Chernivtsi,” Baibak said.
Olena Maslennikova, a social worker at Rokada’s Chernivtsi office, recalled that the first evacuation of children this year took place in February, followed by another in the spring, and a third just recently.
“In February, Rokada was asked to help transfer the children from the train to the relocated Antoshka home. The babies were only a few months old, and I remember it was freezing cold,” Maslennikova said. “Kharkiv was under constant shelling, so it was critical that the journey was safe and calm. But together with our colleagues, everything went smoothly. We coordinated the whole process back then, just as we did during the later evacuations.”
Iryna Kryshtopina, a pediatrician at the Kramatorsk Antoshka Children’s Home, emphasized that the evacuation process is not the only assistance provided by Rokada.
“We are incredibly grateful to Rokada for their support, both when we first arrived and afterward,” Kryshtopina said. “Their team has always stepped up whenever we needed help moving children between medical facilities.”
The home currently looks after more than ten infants, providing them with medical support, proper nutrition, and essential care
“But most importantly, the babies are now in safety and quiet,” the pediatrician emphasized.
