Seventeen seriously wounded Ukrainians, accompanied by four family members, arrived in Croatia on Wednesday for medical treatment and rehabilitation.

They were welcomed at Zagreb airport by Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved and Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Kyrylych.

“In accordance with the government’s decision, we continue to provide support to the friendly Ukrainian people. Through this programme we help in the reception, treatment and rehabilitation of wounded Ukrainians,” Medved said.

In March this year, the government adopted the decision on providing assistance in the medical treatment and rehabilitation of wounded persons from Ukraine. At the end of April, the first group of 19 wounded arrived, 12 of whom returned to Ukraine after successful treatment, while another seven are in the final stages of treatment and rehabilitation. As for the second group of the wounded, Medved expects their successful recovery.

“For the past few days, we have been working in close coordination with our friends from Ukraine who have provided us with information on all the wounded and, according to their diagnoses and type of wounds, we will place them in our health facilities,” Medved said.

Similar assistance is provided to Ukrainians by other members of the European Union, he said. However, Croatia best understands what the Ukrainian people are going through, given that it itself was a victim of brutal aggression in the 1990s, he added.

“We are the only EU member state that, unfortunately, had a Homeland War, that had experience with the seriously wounded, and our medical staff have experience with war wounds,” Medved noted.

Croatian war invalids will also help the Ukrainians through socialising and conversation

All 17 wounded, as well as the four mothers who arrived with them, have been granted the status of persons under temporary protection and the rights that other displaced persons in Croatia have. The wounded were taken to hospitals, while the mothers were provided with accommodation near the hospitals so that they could visit.

In addition to medical staff and interpreters, the wounded Ukrainians will also be helped by fully disabled Croatian war veterans, mostly through socialising and conversation.

“A few weeks ago, we arranged a meeting of our disabled war veterans with our friends from Ukraine. The meeting was extremely moving. The experiences of people who were seriously wounded 32 years ago, and today they come with their families, children and grandchildren to meet people who were left without arms or legs and remained immobile a few months ago, provide them with great encouragement,” Medved said.

After the treatment programme, most of the wounded will be sent to veteran centres for rehabilitation, he said, thanking Norway for its support in organising medical transport to Croatia.

Ambassador Kyrylych thanked the Croatian government for the various forms of assistance it provides, including the International Donors’ Conference for Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine, which Zagreb hosted last week.

“Croatia accepted Ukrainians in the best possible way, there are many examples that prove it, and the Ukrainians feel at home here,” Kyrylych said.

The ambassador estimates that there are currently 27,000 Ukrainians in Croatia.