ATO HQ orders to involve PFVMH June mission’s medics in Anti-Terrorist Operation

After a month delay, the Anti-Terrorist Operation command has issued an order to include medics of the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital, who participated in the June mission of the hospital’s evacuation teams, in the ATO forces and facilities, the PFVMH reported.

According to Oleksandr Hahayev, PFVMH Vice President in charge of liaison with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and law enforcement agencies, the ATO headquarters explained the delay saying they were expecting changes in legislation.

On June 26, MP Serhiy Melnychuk, urged by PFVMH President Gennadiy Druzenko, sent appeals to Defense Minister GA Stepan Poltorak and Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine GA Viktor Muzhenko, demanding to ensure official monthly involvement of PFVMH personnel in ATO. Three days later, Druzenko with Spravedlyvist movement leader Valentyn Nalyvaychenko and PFVMH driver/paramedic, rock musician Andriy Antonenko (Riffmaster) at a joint news conference said the PFVMH encounters this problem every three months – upon each rotation of the ATO command.

There is a special Procedure for PFVMH Medics Involvement in ATO, which was approved by Poltorak on July 28, 2016. The approval resulted from a report by Muzhenko, who, as a matter of fact, had suggested the involvement mechanism based on the quadripartite Memorandum of Cooperation within the Framework of the Project “Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital” (between the PFVMH, Defense Ministry, General AUF Staff and Health Ministry).