Patriarch Filaret awarded military doctors

On April 28, 2017 at his residence, Patriarch Filaret of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine met with the Head of the National Military Medical Clinical Center “Main Military Clinical Hospital” Major General of Medical Service Anatoliy Kazmirchuk, according to the Information Center of the Kyiv Patriarchate.

During the meeting Anatoliy Petrovich told Patriarch Filaret about the work of the main military hospital, where for the past three years of war about 25 thousand soldiers were treated. Thanks to the professionalism and sacrifice of the military hospital team, many lives of our wounded defenders were saved. Almost every week a board of wounded military arrives from East Ukraine to the hospital to receive rehabilitation and treatment.

Patriarch Filaret thanked the military doctors for their daily hard work and sacrificial service which they exhibit in the treatment and rehabilitation of wounded soldiers and take an active part in medical support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the ATO zone.

The primate also stressed the importance of military doctors nowadays when Ukraine suffers from the aggressor’s invasion: “During war, the doctors play the most important role, not less than the same soldiers who defend their homeland. They save lives and preserve health of our defenders.”

The Patriarch marked a significant contribution to the defense of the Motherland of the following medical workers:

- Director of the Military Medical Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Major-General of Medical Service Andriy Verba was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious;

- Head of the National Military Medical Clinical Center “Main Military Clinical Hospital” Major General of Medical Service Anatoliy Kazmirchuk – was awarded the Order of St. Michael the Archangel.

Also Patriarch Filaret conferred on the enterprise “Peter the Great” and its leader Alla Landar the Order of St. Nicholas for sacrificial service for the benefit of the Ukrainian people.

According to the report, in the first days of resistance to Russian aggression in Donbas, the enterprise “Peter the Great” systematically provided charitable assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and volunteer battalions. After Ilovaisk and Debaltsevo, the company provided assistance to the wounded who stayed at the military hospital in Kyiv, allocated funds for treatment and rehabilitation, purchased medicines, allocated financial assistance to families.

Patriarch Filaret congratulated the awardees and bestowed on them God's blessing and wished them to have strength and continue pursuing the noble and God-pleasing cause, helping the Ukrainian army to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state.

The meeting was also attended by deputy head of the National Military Medical Center for moral and psychological support Colonel Hennady Perov and Rector of the Church of Holy Prince Yaroslav the Wise (Low Sofia) Archpriest Petro Ladvyntovych.