Surgical treatment and rehabilitation: what is known about children after the missile strike on Poltava
After the missile strike on Poltava on June 20, doctors continue to fight for the full recovery of children who were seriously injured during the attack. The most worrying is the condition of three boys who were injured while playing football. Eight days after the shelling, doctors reported new data: there is no threat to the children’s lives, they are undergoing staged surgical treatment and rehabilitation.
Children remain under medical supervision
Updated information on the children’s condition was reported by Ihor Ksyonz, a pediatric surgeon, scientist, teacher, public figure, and board member of the M.V. Sklifosovsky Association of Surgeons of Poltava Region. He noted that eight days have passed since the missile attack, and during this time, doctors have taken the necessary emergency measures, stabilized the children’s condition, and moved on to the next stage of treatment.
According to the doctor, all the boys are in satisfactory condition, and there is no threat to their lives. Medical care continues gradually, as such injuries require successive surgical interventions, observation, dressings, monitoring of tissue healing and further rehabilitation.
Andriy and Bohdan continue their treatment at the Children’s City Clinical Hospital of Poltava. In this institution, they remain under the supervision of local specialists who accompany them after their injuries and carry out the necessary medical procedures.
Ilya was transferred to Kyiv – to the Department of Reconstructive Surgery of the National Center of Surgery and Transplantology named after Academician O.O. Shalimov. This type of treatment is needed in cases of complex injuries, when it is important to preserve the functionality of damaged areas, ensure proper tissue recovery and plan further stages of medical care.
Separately, Igor Ksyonz emphasized that doctors are not considering the issue of amputation of a limb for one of the boys. This clarification became important against the backdrop of public attention to the condition of the children and the anxiety that arose after the first reports of the severity of the injuries.
Children injured while playing
The boys were injured during a rocket attack while playing football. An ordinary evening, a children’s game and a few minutes that should have remained part of a summer day turned into hospital wards, operations and a long road to recovery. Doctors do not detail all the circumstances of the injuries, but they report the main thing: the children are alive, their condition is controlled, and treatment is continuing according to plan.
Such messages sound restrained, as befits medical commentary, but behind them lies the complex work of surgeons, anesthesiologists, rehabilitation specialists and all specialists who treat children after injuries. For the families of the victims, every update on their stable condition is of particular importance, because after a serious injury, even small signs of gradual recovery become important.
How the attack on Poltava unfolded
On the evening of June 20, a series of loud explosions were heard in Poltava. The first explosions were heard at approximately 20:10. At that time, an air alert was in effect in the Poltava region, and the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine twice warned of high-speed targets moving towards the city.
According to preliminary information, the strike was carried out with two ballistic missiles. The Poltava Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported that the Russian troops probably used Iskander-M missiles. The hits were recorded on the territories of two enterprises.
The consequences of the attack became known the next morning. According to the head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration, Vitaliy Dyakivnych, as of the morning of June 21, 14 people were known to have been injured. Among them were six children. Two people died.
The Poltava Regional Prosecutor’s Office has launched a pre-trial investigation under the article on committing a war crime that caused the death of people. Investigators are establishing all the circumstances of the attack, the type of weapons used, the locations of the hits, and the consequences of the strike for civilian infrastructure and people nearby.
Of particular importance in this case is the fact that children were among the victims. Their injuries have become part of the criminal proceedings, but for doctors, the main task remains the treatment, preservation of health, and the gradual return of the boys to normal after their injuries.
