‘My dad lives 400 miles from the Ukraine front line – Putin’s missiles blew him up anyway’ | World | News
A Ukrainian woman living in England and her family were left “distraught” after her father fought for his life following a Russian missile attack on his apartment block.
Olena Sidlauskas’ father lives in the city of Ternopil, located in western Ukraine, about 435 miles from the front line and just 200 kilometers from the Polish border. Tragically, it was hit by a Russian missile attack last week.
“On November 19th [woke up] There was news of another major attack on Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion. But this time the result achieved its goal,” said Olena.
“About nine Russian X-101 cruise missiles hit residential flats in my hometown, Ternopil […] One of the nine missiles hit 100 feet from my parents’ ground floor apartment, destroying everything my parents owned and worked hard for their entire lives. At the time of the accident, my father, Yevhen, was walking out the front door on his daily commute to work. “As a result, he suffered serious shrapnel wounds to his head, abdomen and legs.”
Yevhen has undergone several serious surgeries, including the removal of a large portion of his intestines, and surgeons are “working day and night to save his life.” There is also a high chance he will lose his leg.
The city of Ternopil in western Ukraine is located approximately 435 miles from the front line and just 125 miles from the Polish border.
Speaking to the Express on Wednesday, December 3, Olena said: “We are quite distraught at the moment with the hopelessness of the situation […] The situation at home is really dire; My father is struggling to survive, and at the same time, my parents’ apartment is completely dilapidated and needs a complete renovation. As for Dad, we received an update from surgeons earlier today after he was found to have 3cm of his ureter severed, following another surgery, in addition to breaking both of his legs. [1.2 inches] from the bladder”.
According to the surgeons, a piece of shrapnel in the abdominal cavity had displaced and damaged the ureter. At this point it was unclear whether it was partially torn or completely torn. They planned to perform a cystoscopy and place a stent in the kidney on Thursday. If this was not successful, they planned to leave everything as is for a few months and then perform reconstructive surgery.
“However, there is a possibility of transferring him to Kiev without waiting 2-3 months to perform the reconstruction operation, but the fear is that he will be too weak to be transported and even more so to be operated on again, as this will be his 5th surgery in two weeks since the attack,” Olena said. he added.
Olena and her husband Andrius set up a GoFundMe page in a desperate attempt to raise money for medication, surgery and healthcare. “This is because the medics are doing their best (for free) to stabilize him somehow, but there is a huge lack of funds ahead – when the country is at war – so the financial burden falls on our shoulders as a family.”
“Obviously, the absolute priority right now is to use all available funds to ensure my father’s recovery, but of course, if the medics can pull off a miracle, God willing, it will be a long, long road to recovery….”
As of December 6, attractive It raised an incredible £8,620 of its £9,000 target. “This is very difficult for us as we never wanted anything to be given to us and were raised our whole lives to work for everything we have,” Olena wrote. “So, with a broken heart, I ask my friends, colleagues, and all the people around me who know us to help with any donation you are comfortable with, no matter how small…”
In addition to all this, Olena said there was also an urgent need to rebuild the apartment almost from scratch, because “both my mother and my father are literally homeless right now,” she said.
According to Ukrainian officials, at least 25 people, including 3 children, died in the missile and drone attack carried out by Russia on Ternopil on November 20. Later, this number increased to 36 people, including seven children. More than 120 people were injured.
To donate to Yevhen’s GoFundMe appeal, which is well short of its £9,000 target, please click Here.
