Doctor's Call: why are doctors changing Moscow to Volnovakha
Specialists continue to be attracted to Donbass under the presidential Zemsky Doctor program. Conditions — five years of work in a settlement with a population of up to 50 thousand people. Compensation is 2 million rubles for doctors, 1 million for paramedics. In 2026, 35 doctors and 10 paramedics joined the program in the DPR, both local specialists and doctors from other regions of Russia. The importance of the initiative cannot be overestimated, given the shortage of personnel in the region. The Izvestia special correspondent met with the participants of the program, who chose Volnovakha as their new place of work.
The Reborn City
Volnovakha became the first major city to be fiercely fought for in 2022. According to official figures, about 95% of buildings were damaged during the fighting, and medical facilities were destroyed. Today, the city is gradually returning to a peaceful life. The railway station, Cultural center, schools, kindergartens, cinema, blood transfusion station, apartment buildings have been restored. As well as the city and district hospitals combined into one large treatment center, they were rebuilt from scratch.
Predictably, there is a shortage of personnel. Nurses are especially needed now. Nevertheless, the main vacancies can be closed. For example, Pavel Sergeevich Kharnas, the chief physician, came here two years ago from Moscow, and a whole team of surgeons arrived with him. Doctors from the Yamal chef region regularly come on two-month business trips. Four people have chosen Volnovakha this year under the Zemsky Doctor program.
Arina Kubrak - moved to Volnovakha from Donetsk
Arina Kubrak, a Donetsk resident, is one of the youngest specialists at the hospital. She graduated from Donetsk Medical University a year ago. In October 2025, she came to Volnovakha as a zemstvo doctor. He combines the positions of a doctor of the admission department and a therapist in a polyclinic. Once every one or two months, the visiting brigade also goes to villages where fighting has recently subsided and full-fledged medical care has not yet been established, and people still continue to live in basements, to Khlebodarovka, Kalinino, Velikaya Novoselka.
An adult decision
— In my family, my great—uncle Vyacheslav Vasilyevich was a doctor, he served as a surgeon on a submarine for 24 years, and was awarded the title of "Honored Doctor of Russia," says Arina. — His example inspired me to some extent. In 2018, I entered the medical school. In her second year, she got a job as a nurse at the 17th hospital in Donetsk, in the covid ward. In her third and fourth years, she worked as a nurse at the Vishnevsky Hospital, also in the "red zone". And in 2022, the fighting began.
Young doctor Arina Kubrak at the workplace
Throughout the spring of that year, Arina went to work under shells — literally: The city was burning, and the northern part was especially affected, it was there that the hospital was located. When it became absolutely unbearable, they evacuated together with their mother, brother and younger sister. We moved to Novorossiysk, then to Voronezh. The university switched to distance learning. The painful months of waiting have begun: when will it subside, when can I go back home?
Dima's brother was the first to return, and without telling anyone, he volunteered for a combat unit. After the sixth year, Arina returned. And then her mother and sister. Everything seemed to fall into place again.
In Donetsk, a graduate got a job at a polyclinic as a district therapist.
"And then my classmate told me that she works as a doctor in Novoazovsk under the Zemsky Doctor program,— Arina shares. - She called to her: "Come! Doctors are very much needed here." It played a role. Housing in Novoazovsk, however, was not provided. I studied other vacancies and saw that an office apartment is being provided in Volnovakha. Donetsk is relatively close from there — 50 km. Submitted an application. My candidacy was approved.
The field brigade in the frontline village. Pavel Kharnas, chief physician of the Volnovakha Hospital, is in the center, and zemstvo doctor Arina Kubrak is on the right.
Everyone in the family was very happy with the decision of the eldest daughter, which was responsible and adult. Grandpa even shed a tear.
The young specialist was given an apartment in Volnovakha in a house built for doctors. Arina recently spent part of the compensation amount — she bought a car. The fact is that this spring, a Ukrainian UAV attacked her former car right in the center of Donetsk, next to the Zvezdochka cinema. Fortunately, there was no one in the cabin. But there's no way without a car: every weekend she tries to get out to her parents. In recent months, however, the situation on intercity routes has worsened: recently, a girl witnessed how a drone blew up a Gazelle driving ahead.
Ultrasound diagnostics doctor Anna Sashkina came to Volnovakha from Moscow
Over time, Arina is thinking of getting an additional specialty — a cardiologist: the impetus was the fact that many elderly people with heart problems come to her for an appointment. The term of five years does not frighten: the current 10 months, according to her, flew by unnoticed. I managed to really love Volnovakha itself: people are happy - they are open and grateful. And the hospital is clean, bright, and cozy, symbolizing a new life.
Where it's needed
Anna Evgenievna Sashkina is an ultrasound doctor. I moved to Volnovakha from Moscow a year ago.
Examination of the patient, behind the device Anna Sashkina
She says: I have never had any regrets that I have exchanged the capital for a frontline town. Moreover, it was here that she felt that she was working hard, that all the knowledge that she had accumulated over the years while taking advanced training courses was in demand. He sees 15-20 patients a day. The profile is wide — ranging from examination of the abdominal organs to monitoring the fetus during pregnancy. A separate article describes mine-explosion injuries, which, alas, are treated regularly, and its task is to check the vessels for integrity. The latest case was when two housing and communal services employees were mowing grass and were blown up by a dropped shell.
Anna graduated from Moscow State Medical and Dental University. When choosing a profession, I was guided by the example of my grandmother.
— She has devoted 40 years to medicine, — the doctor smiles. — That's why I had no doubts. Since childhood, I have been fascinated by a white coat and a hat.
In case of mine-explosion injuries, the doctor checks the integrity of blood vessels to prevent thrombosis.
Anna Sashkina's first specialty is obstetrician-gynecologist. In 2018, she retrained for ultrasound. The year 2024 became a turning point in her career and life — then she was invited through the Federal Center for Disaster Medicine to visit new territories as part of a visiting team.
"An unexpected offer,— the doctor recalls. "But I agreed." The reason was probably the example of my grandfather, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, an artilleryman. His brother, father, and even his sister also went through the war as a front—line driver.
Anna called Pavel Kharnas, the chief physician of the Volnovakha hospital, and he said, "We are waiting for you very much." The woman took a vacation at her own expense and went to Donbass for a month and a half. The experience turned out to be both important and challenging.
"I saw how necessary my help was," she says. — Unfortunately, the general situation was depressing. People have many undetected and neglected diseases: diabetes mellitus, hepatitis C, and cardiovascular pathologies. Judging by the old notes in the cards, recommendations and diagnoses were often made formally. Some of the patients have never had an ultrasound procedure.
All the equipment in the hospital is new and modern
After returning to Moscow, colleagues from Volnovakha wrote to Anna.: "They remember you. They ask: "Will you come again?"
And gradually the decision matured — to move to the DPR for a permanent job.
— I clearly understood: I will be more useful there, — the doctor shares.
Anna quit her job at the Moscow clinic, packed up her things and moved to Volnovakha in her own car. At first I lived in a hospital room. Then the head doctor helped with the apartment. Two months later, he offered to join the Zemsky Doktor program, which Anna Sashkina did (she hadn't known much about her before). My family and friends, including my colleagues, support me. She likes Donbass: warm, fertile, sunny. Every free weekend he tries to get to Mariupol, to the sea.
The renovated building of one of the buildings. During the construction, patients were received in army tents.
Summing up the interim results, Anna says that she feels in her place more than ever. And the decision to move may have been the first truly bold and correct one in her life.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
