David Beckham handed over control of his Instagram account to a Ukrainian doctor working in the city of Kharkiv.
The former footballer, who has 71.4 million followers on the social media page, said he wanted to emphasize the “amazing work” of the medical staff operating in the context of the Russian invasion.
Iryna, who is the head of the regional perinatal center and a pediatric anesthesiologist, posted clips and pictures on the athlete’s Instagram stories all Sunday, showing how the war affected her team’s work.
“Today I will show you how we work in times of war and who we have become in these days of war,” she said.
Iryna shared videos showing a basement where pregnant women and new mothers were evacuated in the first days of the invasion, an intensive care unit where babies are being treated, and oxygen generators donated by Unicef.
Irina, identified only by her first name, said she now works “24/7” and that “we probably risk our lives, but we do not think about it at all. We love our job.”
She also posted about Yana and her baby Mykhailo, who was born on the second day of the war with respiratory problems, in which his family at home was destroyed during the fighting.
She said the child was “better now”.
Former Manchester United and Real Madrid player Beckham, 46, has been an ambassador for Unicef since 2005.
He urged his supporters to donate to the charity, which works in Ukraine to provide families with access to clean water and food, to further guarantee child protection services and to assess the refugee situation in neighboring countries.
“Thanks to your donation, the oxygen generators they received will help newborns survive in appalling conditions,” he said.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been the target of Russian attacks for three weeks.
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