Dr. Shawn Yunayev, founder of the Trans-Atlantic Medical Relief Foundation, joined Shannan Ferry and Rocco Vertuccio on Mornings on 1 Sunday to detail his efforts to provide emergency medical supplies to his native Ukraine. Yunayev rallied his fellow doctors in Brooklyn to raise funds and collect supplies.
"It's heartbreaking. I can't describe it any other way other than heartbreaking," Yunayev said of the war in his home country. "You can't help but see your own family, your own brothers, your sisters, your mothers, your fathers, your own children suffering and dying."
Yunayev flies a wide range of items, from tourniquets to diapers, into Warsaw, Poland where a partner charity helps get the shipment over the border into Ukraine. Yunayev's colleagues in Ukraine then distribute the supplies and equipment to hospitals and medical centers in and around Kyiv, Yunayev said.
"I hope what we're doing is offering them solace and some brief moments of hope and peace," Yunayev said.
New Yorkers looking to support the efforts of Yunayev and the Trans-Atlantic Medical Relief Foundation can donate at TAMRF.org or GoFundMe.com.