A Dutch foundation has unveiled plans to construct Ukraine’s largest underground hospital near the combat zones, designed to offer emergency medical care while safeguarding patients and medical personnel from drone and artillery threats. This facility, strategically positioned about 8 meters below the surface, will span approximately 600 square meters and be fortified with reinforced concrete to endure heavy attacks.
The underground hospital will feature six operating rooms dedicated to urgent trauma care, including surgeries for shrapnel injuries and blood transfusions. Rather than serving as a long-term healthcare facility, its primary role is to act as an underground stabilization center. Here, critically injured soldiers can receive immediate medical attention and life-saving surgery before being transferred to hospitals located further from the front lines.
Construction preparations for this secret-location facility are already underway, with an anticipated opening date set for February 2027. The initiative, which originated from a request by Ukraine’s Military Medical Service, is supported by a Norwegian healthcare foundation. The project is projected to cost €2 million, with an additional €500,000 needed for medical equipment, supplies, and armored evacuation vehicles, bringing the total estimated expenditure to €2.5 million.
To date, the foundation has amassed approximately €750,000 and is actively seeking an additional €1.75 million to meet the project’s financial needs. The initiative underscores the heightened necessity for protected medical facilities in close proximity to combat zones, especially as the use of drones on the battlefield has rendered traditional evacuation methods increasingly perilous.