Ivan Mykolayovych Demkiv is from Lviv Oblast, born on July 7, 1982.

He graduated from Lviv National Medical University of Danylo Halytsky, and devoted many years of his life to studying medicine. For several years he worked as a civilian doctor, but with the beginning of hostilities in the east of the country, doctors were greatly needed in military medicine, that’s how Ivan later became a military doctor.

February 24, 2022, Ivan met at the 555 Military Hospital of Mariupol, where he worked as the head of traumatology, leading surgeon. But he had already been practically living at work for several weeks before this day, working in an intensified mode. Events from that day began to develop very quickly, the wounded increased every minute. Later, the whole city turned into one big military hospital. The wounded were placed in all possible hospitals, Ivan organized the work of it, where he made complex surgeries and amputations. But the war always followed by their steps… They had to evacuate all the equipment, personnel and patients, look for a new safe place to save people. The circle was narrowing, in the middle of March 2022 there was no longer a single undestroyed hospital left in the city, as well as places for hiding. The last shelter for Ivan, other doctors and many wounded was the Ilyicha plant. There, in inhumane conditions and under constant shelling, doctors were still able to organize conditions for the accommodation of people who needed aid and even an operating theater where they worked day and night without rest.

But, unfortunately, they were all captured on April 12 from the Ilyicha factory.

Ivan himself, who has been in prison for almost a year, needs help now.

We learned about the captivity from various sources, there are also several videos with Ivan in captivity.

Children, wife and mother are waiting for him at home.

Thousands of lives were rescued by the team of doctors at the Ilyicha plant by providing help in time. We are begging the society to help free the doctors.

Ivan returned home on April 26, 2023 as part of the exchange of military prisoners of war