IsraAID Ukraine completes first aid training for railway workers

IsraAID Ukraine completed in October a program providing comprehensive emergency first aid training to railway workers across the country. More than three and a half years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s railways remain a constant target of shelling and drone attacks. IsraAID’s First Aid Training program was implemented in partnership with The Trade Union of Railwaymen and Transport Construction Workers in Ukraine. The program reached 760 railway workers from 9 provinces, serving over 10 million passengers annually.  

In recent months, Ukraine Railways has been experiencing a heightened level of attacks on infrastructure. Since August 2025, there have been over 300 attacks on stations, depots, and energy facilities, leading to delays and train cancelations. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 221 railway employees have been injured and 37 have been killed in the line of duty. Under current conditions, with severe damage to infrastructure and limited medical care access, first aid knowledge for railway workers has become critically important. 

IsraAID’s first aid training sessions began in July 2024 and ran through October 2025. The program was conducted for employees from Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Zhytomy, and Vinnytsia, as well as Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk – where proximity to the frontlines, partial occupations of territories or constant shelling make working conditions especially dangerous. Training participants included engineers, foremen, electricians, and site supervisors. Among them are also station managers who remain at their posts during air raid alerts, and occupational safety officers responsible for the safety of their colleagues during emergencies. 

IsraAID adapted trainings to the unique challenges facing railway workers, creating action plans in case of injuries to colleagues or passengers – including falls, blows, and wounds. Special focus was placed on controlling bleeding, safe transportation of injured patients, and rapid response during crisis. IsraAID provided first aid kits equipped in line with the International NGO Safety Organization’s recommendations; however, participants were also trained to provide first aid in cases where kits may not be available. For example, during a session with Odesa railway workers, participants practiced with improvised materials – including railway bedding linens – to simulate realistic emergency conditions. 

Maryna, a railway worker from the front-line region of Zaporzhizhia, completed IsraAID First Aid training over the summer. In early October, she was at the site of a drone attack where a man was caught in the explosion on his way to the shelter. Maryna stayed calm and began executing the protocols she had learned, moving the man to safety in the shelter and assessing his wounds. She identified two shrapnel wounds in his leg, applied a tourniquet, and called for an ambulance. Medics arrived only an hour and a half later due to ongoing attacks. They assessed that the man would have died without Maryna’s intervention. The skills she acquired in the training allowed her to remain calm, confident, and save a life.  

IsraAID Ukraine Health Project Manager Larysa Koval, said: 

“Watching locomotive depot workers head out for a shift, I realized exactly how important these First Aid Trainings are. Once, their bags held only a snack and a thermos of tea. These days, alongside those familiar things, each worker carries a helmet and bulletproof vest. For the railway community, first aid skills are not trivial knowledge. These skills are essential and save lives. They provide the confidence that even amid the chaos there are still things we can control.’ 

-ENDS- 

Further information is available on request, including interviews with IsraAID Ukraine Country Director Alena Druzhynina and other individuals involved in this operation. 

CONTACT:

Yana Stavska
Email: [email protected]

Notes: 

IsraAID is a leading international humanitarian non-governmental organization, based in Israel. Since 2001, IsraAID has become synonymous with a rapid response to humanitarian crises and a long-term commitment to working with affected communities. During and after emergencies, IsraAID partners with communities to re-build their lives – and their futures – together. As of October 2025, IsraAID has responded to more than 100 emergencies, in more than 65 countries.