Ukraine approves resumption of air medical evacuations
New government procedures aim to accelerate international patient transfers, coordinate emergency aircraft operations, and support time-critical organ transportation
Ukraine has approved a framework to resume air medical evacuations using aircraft operated by its State Emergency Service (SESU), establishing procedures for transferring critically ill patients and transporting donor organs.
The Cabinet of Ministers has authorized the use of SESU aircraft for interhospital transfers when ground transportation is too slow, impractical, or presents additional risks to patients. The arrangements also cover cross-border evacuations for Ukrainians requiring specialist treatment abroad.
Health Minister Viktor Liashko said the mechanism could substantially reduce journey times for patients being transferred to medical facilities in neighboring countries.
According to the ministry, transfers from Kharkiv or Vinnytsia to the medical evacuation hub in Rzeszów, Poland, currently take at least 12 hours by road. Air medical transport could reduce those journeys to approximately two to three hours.
The government expects the new arrangements to become operational before the end of 2026, supporting the evacuation of war casualties accepted for treatment in European countries through the Medevac Ukraine program.
The framework also establishes criteria for transporting donor organs. SESU aircraft may be deployed when road transport of a donor heart would exceed two hours, or when transporting lungs or a liver would take more than five hours.
Specialist medical retrieval teams and their equipment may also be transported under the arrangements.
Ukraine’s Scientific and Practical Centre for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine will coordinate requests between hospitals and emergency services. SESU will provide aircraft and crews, with individual missions subject to technical feasibility, weather conditions, and security assessments.
The measures build on Ukraine’s existing targeted medical evacuation system, under which more than 3,700 evacuations have been conducted.
The new procedures will remain in force throughout martial law and for six months after it ends.
Further reading: Ukrainian forces have used a heavy-lift drone to evacuate a severely wounded soldier from the front line.
Siân Yates
Siân Yates is News Editor at Voyageur Group and Editor of International Hospitals & Healthcare (IH&H). She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism, and has written across healthcare, travel, food and beverage, science and technology, and environmental topics. Her passion lies in magazine creation and editorial management.