From Novi Sanzhary to a Modern Treatment and Rehabilitation System
The past few years have brought unprecedented tests for the healthcare system of Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. First the COVID-19 pandemic, and then Russia’s full-scale invasion, forced the medical service to operate in circumstances where the lives of thousands depended on rapid decision-making, professional preparedness, and effective coordination. This period produced unique crisis-management experience that has become an important part of the modern history of Ukraine’s departmental medical service.
Recent events tested every component of the system — from management and logistics to the work of physicians, nurses, and the heads of medical institutions. The response to the pandemic and the work carried out under martial law demonstrated that a combination of professional preparedness, managerial flexibility, and interagency cooperation enabled the departmental medical service to remain stable during the greatest challenges of the modern era.
The First Challenge: the COVID-19 Pandemic
One of Ukraine’s first major tests during the pandemic was the evacuation of citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan. Once the decision to bring them home had been made, the authorities had to organize safe observation and medical supervision. The MIA healthcare system was entrusted with one of the most demanding tasks of the pandemic’s early stage.
At the direction of the MIA leadership, a comprehensive assessment was carried out at the National Guard of Ukraine Medical Center in Novi Sanzhary. Leading specialists from the MIA Center for Preventive Medicine, representatives of the Ministry of Health, and epidemiology experts joined the effort. With very limited time available, the task was not only to evaluate the facility’s capacity, but also to organize a full set of infection-control measures, medical monitoring, and appropriate living conditions.
The operation in Novi Sanzhary became the first large-scale test not only for the MIA medical service, but for the state as a whole. Despite significant public tension and attention, the observation period was organized in line with the safety requirements and international recommendations applicable at the time. This experience created an important foundation for the response to the pandemic’s later challenges.
As COVID-19 spread, the medical system faced new tasks. The rapid increase in patients with severe illness required expanded treatment capacity and laboratory diagnostics. The MIA system deployed oxygen stations and created a network of PCR laboratories which, once certified, provided rapid diagnostics in different regions of the country.
The pandemic established a new culture of rapid response to large-scale crises. This experience later became one of the factors that prepared the departmental medical service to work during the full-scale war.
Full-Scale War: a New Reality for the Medical Service
On February 24, 2022, the MIA healthcare system entered a fundamentally new stage. Crisis management was organized within the first hours of the invasion, coordination meetings were held, and constant communication was established with medical units in every region. The first reports showed that hostilities were expanding rapidly and that new threats required an immediate response.
Stocks of medicines, dressings, and medical supplies assembled in advance made it possible to maintain the uninterrupted operation of medical institutions during the most difficult initial phase of the war.
The situation in temporarily occupied territories was particularly difficult. The MIA hospital in Kherson became a symbol of resilience, continuing to provide care to civilians and personnel even under occupation. Its medical staff demonstrated exceptional professionalism, responsibility, and dedication to their duty.
MIA medical institutions in the Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions faced similar challenges. Under constant shelling and extreme workloads, medical workers continued treating the wounded and the sick and kept healthcare facilities operating. The Zaporizhzhia region occupied a particularly important place in the response system, becoming a major hub for receiving evacuees, treating the wounded, and providing subsequent rehabilitation.
From Kherson to Chernihiv and from Kharkiv to Zaporizhzhia, medical workers in the MIA system carried out their duties in conditions where everyday work required not only professional knowledge, but personal courage.
Organizing medical support for the defense forces in the Kyiv garrison was especially difficult. From the first day, the head of the MIA medical service in the Kyiv garrison and the head of the MIA Central Polyclinic focused their efforts on this mission. All subordinate medical personnel who remained at their posts — those who neither left nor resigned — demonstrated extraordinary courage and commitment to their principles. The MIA leadership subsequently gave due recognition to these actions.
Ambulances: an Example of Rapid Decision-Making
One of the clearest examples of crisis management involved ambulances that were in the final stage of refitting in Kyiv when the war began. Constant shelling created a real risk that the vehicles would be lost before they could even enter service.
Rapid coordination between the MIA and the Ministry of Health led to a decision to transfer some of the vehicles to the MIA system and the National Guard of Ukraine. This significantly strengthened medical evacuation and emergency-care capacity for wounded personnel during the first months of the war.
Humanitarian Aid and Digital Solutions
Following the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine received substantial international humanitarian assistance. MIA medical units handled its registration, distribution, and effective use in accordance with the needs of medical institutions. Medicines, equipment, and generators became essential resources for sustaining medical infrastructure during the war.
At the same time, medical support was provided for the work of public authorities, while digital medical services were introduced through the eHealth system. This helped maintain continuity across many administrative and clinical processes.
Evacuation and Support for Families
Another major task was the evacuation of MIA personnel and their family members from dangerous regions. Carrying it out required coordination among medical institutions, rehabilitation centers, and territorial units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The MIA Medical Rehabilitation Center in the Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions became one of the key facilities in this effort. During the most difficult period of the war, it organized reception, medical care, psychological support, and temporary accommodation for MIA personnel and family members evacuated from combat areas. The center’s work became an example of effectively combining medical, social, and humanitarian assistance.
Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Mental Health
One of the departmental medical service’s highest priorities was to organize treatment for the wounded, medical evacuation, and subsequent rehabilitation for service members, police officers, border guards, and rescue workers. Even before a nationwide regulatory framework had been established, the MIA system began implementing its own approaches to restorative treatment and rehabilitation.
The MIA Central Hospital of Ukraine became one of the centers driving this work. It began developing modern rehabilitation infrastructure, specialized departments, and multidisciplinary teams. The rehabilitation system was effectively being built at the same time as care was being provided to large numbers of wounded patients, requiring rapid decisions and the adoption of the latest practices.
The international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières made an important contribution to this effort. Its specialists provided advice and practical support in organizing rehabilitation processes, helping introduce modern approaches to patients’ physical recovery. The resulting experience became one of the foundations for the further development of the rehabilitation network within the MIA system.
Medical and psychological rehabilitation also became a major priority. The war demonstrated the need for systematic mental-health support not only for service members and law-enforcement officers, but also for civilians. The MIA system therefore began creating psychological recovery programs and the infrastructure needed to provide comprehensive care.
At the same time, personnel of the National Police and the National Guard of Ukraine received training in first aid under combat conditions. This significantly improved the system’s ability to save lives at the point of injury.
The Tragedy in Brovary
The crash in Brovary on January 18, 2023, became a separate tragic chapter in the history of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi, First Deputy Minister Yevhen Yenin, MIA State Secretary Yurii Lubkovych, and other close associates of the Minister were killed in the tragedy.
For the MIA system, this was not only a loss of leadership, but also a profound human loss — one that fundamentally changed approaches to human resources and had a radical impact on every agency and unit within the MIA system. I believe the full extent of that impact will become clear over time. From the first days of the war, the leaders who were killed had directly supported the development of treatment for the wounded, medical evacuation, international cooperation, and rehabilitation programs within the MIA system. Many important projects were implemented with their direct participation and support.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war subjected the healthcare system of Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs to unprecedented tests. From organizing observation in Novi Sanzhary and deploying a network of PCR laboratories to keeping facilities operating in occupied and frontline areas; from medical evacuation to the development of modern rehabilitation, the MIA medical service demonstrated its ability to respond effectively to crises of national scale.
The experience gained became the basis for a modern model of departmental medicine that combines treatment, rehabilitation, psychological care, and social support. The heads of medical institutions, international partners, and thousands of medical workers who remained at their posts throughout the pandemic and the war all made significant contributions to this process.
The recent history of the MIA medical service is a story of professional responsibility, managerial resilience, and service to people. From the fight against COVID-19 to the treatment and rehabilitation of Ukraine’s defenders, medical workers in the system have proved their ability to perform the most difficult tasks while protecting the highest value of all — human life.
Source: LinkedIn — a publication by Anatolii Smyk