This Saturday, six Ukrainian children with cancer will begin treatment in Madrid. They spent their early nights at several Madrid hospitals, including Niño Jesús Hospital, which has admitted more children with the disease since March. They will arrive at Torrejón airbase in Madrid on Friday in Ardoz.
Two of the young travelers arrived with severely compromised immune systems, needing urgent medical care. Children from various Ukrainian regions were brought to Spain along with nine accompanying friends by Defense, which chartered a medical plane from the Air Force.
The operation is supported by the Spanish Society of Hematology and Oncology. Military specialists from the Air Evacuation Medical Unit were mobilized to enable air transport from the Polish airport in Rezszow.
bomb-free holiday
Medical aid to these small Ukrainian patients coincided with a respite for some families. A group of 32 Ukrainian children, aged between 7 and 17, were escorted to the shores of Valencia by the National Police. The Valencian Government Office is organizing a three week stay that includes shelter, meals, health services and recreation to help them unwind from the stress of war and recover some peace of mind.
The initiative began last June in the International Zone of the Ministry of the Interior. Ukrainian internal affairs authorities requested reception in Spain for a portrait of a group of children of Ukrainian police officers. Spanish colleagues rented a car to drive to the Polish border, with two police officers and one liaison officer aboard.
The gathering of the children occurred on August 15 in Warsaw. The long journey required two nights on the road, supervised by German and French police and host monitors during those overnight stays.
The holidays for this group extend through September 4, the day their families will collect them in Warsaw.