Lisbon residents and visitors are encountering an unsettling sight: a bullet-riddled ambulance, its metal shell torn by gunfire, parked just metres from the Russian embassy. The vehicle, once used for emergency medical evacuations in Ukraine, now serves as a mobile monument to the war's brutality.
The ambulance's story dates back to 2022, during a rescue operation in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Roman Grymalyuk, president of the Portuguese-Ukrainian association ORANTA, recounted the incident: "A medical team was called out to rescue a woman injured in a bombing. After they had entered the building to rescue her, this ambulance came under fire."
Remarkably, the crew and the rescued woman survived. "The only thing that was destroyed was the metal," Grymalyuk said, emphasizing that no human lives were lost in this particular attack. The vehicle, however, was left completely inoperable.
For Grymalyuk, who describes Russia as a "terrorist state," the ambulance is tangible evidence of war crimes against civilians. "Here you can come up close, touch it, and grasp the pain, the scale and the problem we are facing today. This is not a film. It is a reality that is unfolding in Europe," he told Euronews.
A travelling exhibit with a purpose
The ambulance is not new to the European stage. Since 2023, it has toured the continent, starting at the European Parliament in Brussels and visiting several Portuguese cities before reaching Lisbon. The exhibit also includes paintings and photographs that aim to bring Ukrainian realities to audiences far from the front lines.
The display is part of the international "Ukraine is Calling" campaign, organized by LUkraine, which has already travelled to 11 European countries. The campaign, which won the European Citizen's Prize in 2023, seeks to raise funds for more than 100 medical vehicles for Ukraine.
ORANTA, which has been active in the Algarve since 2022, is one of the partner organizations. The association has already sent 31 medical and rescue vehicles to Ukraine, sourcing decommissioned ambulances from Portuguese municipalities and fire brigades. "Some we manage to buy, others we manage to obtain," Grymalyuk explained. "Among the fire services, there are many ambulances that can no longer be used to provide services here in Portugal, but for us, they are extremely important."
The choice of location—directly outside the Russian embassy—is deliberate. It follows recent remarks by a Russian embassy attaché calling Portugal one of the most hostile countries in Europe. Grymalyuk responded: "If Portugal is the enemy of a terrorist country, we can say it is on the right side of history, on the right side of the world and of the defence of humanity."
The exhibit underscores the ongoing human cost of the war, which continues to reverberate across Europe. As European nations debate unlocking frozen Russian assets and bolstering defences against hybrid threats, the ambulance stands as a grim reminder of the physical violence that persists on the continent's eastern edge.
For those who pass by, the message is clear: the war is not a distant abstraction but a brutal reality that has left its mark on a vehicle that once carried hope. The campaign continues, with organizers hoping to raise enough funds to send more ambulances to the front lines, where they are desperately needed.
