About us

I have been working as a doctor in anesthesia, intensive care, and emergency medicine for over 20 years. Since spending a semester studying medicine at Pavlov University in St. Petersburg in the 1990s, I speak passable Russian, as do most Ukrainians. After Russia launched its full-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, I heard the experiences of the many refugees who came to us in their own words, which moved me deeply. I had not thought before that I would ever need this language again. The war, started arbitrarily by Putin, has torn apart the lives of people who could be our neighbors in a thousand ways from one day to the next. 

My involvement with 4-Ukraine.de is first and foremost a personal statement against this incomprehensible injustice. 
In our initiative, I am responsible for supporting our Ukrainian partners in the areas of health and civil protection, which I coordinate.

In my normal life, I am a social scientist and work in the field of cancer information. Shortly after the outbreak of war, I took young women into my apartment and helped them settle in and find their way around Germany. Some of them stood at my door with nothing but a small handbag. They told me about their lives in Ukraine, a country I knew little about until then.

To this day, I am shocked by how their normal and completely full lives could be so suddenly and unjustly turned upside down, with such lasting consequences. 

I don't want to stand by and watch, feeling powerless. That's why I support the work of 4-ukraine, especially in the areas of heating and electricity. 

I came to 4-Ukraine through my long-standing close friendship with Dr. Zoller and Marie Köster. Their enthusiasm and energy in the initial “1000 Sleeping Bags” project impressed me greatly and motivated me to get involved. 

As a member of IG Metall, I soon became aware of the association ‘Gewerkschaften helfen e.V.’ (Trade Unions Help), from which we were able to raise a total of almost €150,000 in funding for several of our projects. 

This experience of effectiveness moved me deeply. Wars always seemed far away in my life—even though my father was a professional soldier—until the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 suddenly brought misery and despair to our doorstep. 

After the war began, my daughter and I took in two refugees who had been stranded at Berlin Central Station. Experiencing how our own commitment can help people in need directly and without any loss of impact also shapes our work at 4UA.