A small team of medical professionals from Israel are currently in Moldova, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe on the northeast of Romania and southwest of Ukraine, which last week was the subject of an unprovoked attack by Russia.
A team of 15 doctors, medics and paramedics from Israel's United Hatzalah emergency response group are in Moldova to assist with the incoming refugees from Ukraine and more medical professionals are set to arrive in the coming days to help with the surge of refugees as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"We are traveling to bring a ray of light and a sliver of hope to a tragic and dark situation," Avi Marcus, a United Hatzalah delegation member said of their mission to the victims of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as per the Jewish Press.
"The Jewish people know all too well what it means to be refugees and we will never leave people alone to fend for themselves in their time of need."
According to CBN News, the delegation is in the city of Kishinev in Moldova to deliver humanitarian, medical, and emotional support to the refugees fleeing amidst the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Israel's leading non-governmental humanitarian aid organization called IsraAID are also gearing up to help Ukrainian refugees in Moldova.
IsraAID's CEO Yotam Polizer remarked that they were "deeply concerned by the devastating humanitarian situation" that resulted from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He said, "Once again, we are seeing a potential influx of large numbers of refugees in Europe who need urgent support. Our team will stay in Moldova for as long as we are needed and may deploy to other Ukrainian border countries as the situation develops."
On Monday, a Ukrainian delegation arrived near the border of Belarus to engage in peace talks with Russian officials, CNBC reported. Meanwhile, Ukraine's armed forces continue to defend the country against the unprovoked attack by Russia that sparked on Thursday morning, slowing Russia's advance on Kyiv.
The United Nations has recorded at least 406 civilian casualties in Ukraine since the Russia-Ukraine conflict sparked on Thursday. U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet reported that the global agency has recorded 102 deaths resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, among which seven were children. In addition, 304 civilians were also injured in the attack.
Bachelet underscored how Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine has placed "countless lives" at risk. She said, "Most of these civilians were killed by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and air strikes."
But Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to be unstoppable on Sunday when he declared that Russia's nuclear "deterrence forces" had been placed into "a special mode of combat service," or simply, "high alert," Al Jazeera reported.
Most analysts, on the contrary, believe that Putin's talks of nuclear weapons is a "desperate move" after Russia found resistance in Ukraine last week.
