'A war for life of our child': Health crisis spills out of Ukraine conflict

Ukrainian Alinka, 17, and her mother Katya wait outside the examination room of children's oncology ward at the Institute of Mother and Child hospital in Warsaw, Poland March 3, 2022. Picture taken March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Katya was on the way to hospital for an urgent operation for her 17-year-old daughter Alinka, who has bone cancer, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Their doctor at Kyiv's National Cancer Institute called them and advised them to turn around and go home for their own safety. It soon dawned on the family that the only option was to continue Alinka's treatment abroad.