Maksym Vovchenko, Kyiv: “The hardest part is seeing those who are waiting and hoping for a miracle”

Maksym, a graphic designer by profession, volunteers with the emergency response team of the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross. When the full-scale war began, he was living in Mykolaiv. For two weeks, his family hid in the basement, and whenever the shelling paused, Maksym went out to help others. Together with his brother, he searched for medicines, delivered food, and transported people to safer locations.

Later, when his family left the country, he joined the Ukrainian Red Cross emergency response team in Mykolaiv. His wife, Oleksandra, and their son went to Germany, while his children from a previous marriage, to whom he is very close, went to France.

During his volunteer work, Maksym witnessed scenes that are hard to forget. He began responding to emergencies, evacuating civilians from frontline communities. “We came across columns of people who had walked tens of kilometres across fields because the roads were mined,” he recalls.

In June 2022, Maksym and his team were at the site of a strike on a residential building in Mykolaiv. It turned out that his fellow volunteer, Valentyn, had lived there. Valentyn was killed along with his parents during the attack. “The search and rescue operation lasted three days. The rescuers found Valentyn’s body last. That’s when I saw a father who had been waiting the whole time for his daughter… who had died in that building. It is incredibly hard to witness death. But the hardest part is seeing the relatives nearby, waiting and hoping for a miracle.”

A few months later, Maksym moved to Kyiv, where he continued his volunteer work. He responds to attacks and assists those affected. His car is always stocked with a bulletproof vest, helmet, and first aid kit, ready at a moment’s notice to go wherever he is needed. “I want no one in the world to see what I have seen. But if needed, I will go again wherever I am required.”

His greatest support comes from his wife, Oleksandra, who is also a volunteer with the emergency response team. She returned from Germany with their son after the evacuation. “Without her, it would be impossible. We are always together — in life, in work, in volunteering, and during emergency responses.”