About this Event
Brandon Mitchell: A day on the front lines with a Canadian volunteer combat medic in Ukraine
20-minute video “Soledar: Ukraine, Truth about the fallen British volunteers and what happened”, reveals the front-line situation in Soledar, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine in January 2023, and the determined efforts of Hospitallers volunteers to evacuate civilians remaining in Soledar.
Brandon Mitchell will share a first-hand account of the war, the online war, and the support those on the ground receive. He’ll discuss what’s working and what’s not, and offer a candid perspective on the horrific invasion of Ukraine from the ground.
Moderated by Professor Matthew Light, Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies.
A question period will follow.
Presented by SVI and the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine at the University of Toronto
FREE in-person event | Donations at the door
Proceeds from the event will be donated to hospitallers.life
About Brandon Mitchell
Brandon Mitchell is a 37-year-old Canadian originally from Miramichi, New Brunswick. He joined the Canadian Army Reserves at 17 and served at CFB Gagetown before moving to the United Kingdom at 19 and joining the military there. Mitchell left the British Army in 2007. He arrived in Ukraine from Sweden on March 14, 2022 and joined the Hospitallers Medical Battalion which is part of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army. He has served in hospitals and ON the fronts of Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut.
Brandon was involved in the casualty evacuation of wounded soldiers and also the evacuation of civilians in the Donbas Region. Brandon has a sizable social media following through Instagram and YouTube which he uses to solicit funds for supplies given directly to the units he serves with under the Ukrainian Forces.
See Brandon’s story through his social media: Instagram + YouTube
See news coverage about Brandon here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canadian-medic-ukraine-brandon-mitchell-1.6727705
https://pipanews.com/meet-a-canadian-medic-who-escapes-russian-artillery-attacks-and-saves-lives-on-the-frontline-of-ukraine-pipa-news/
About Matthew Light
Matthew Light is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociolegal Studies and Affiliated Faculty at the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, Munk School of Global Affairs. He studies migration control, policing and criminal justice, and public and citizen security, primarily in the post-Soviet region. His book (Routledge 2016) and several related articles on Russian federal and regional migration policies in the aftermath of the breakup of the USSR analyze what forms of freedom of movement emerged in the new post-Soviet Russian state, and frames the Soviet and post-Soviet experience with migration management in comparative international perspective. Light’s recent work concerns policing and other aspects of public and citizen security in several post-Soviet countries, including Russia, Georgia, and Armenia, and examines the evolution of both public policing institutions and private provision of security in the region.
About Hospitallers
"Hospitallers" is a volunteer organization of paramedics. It was founded by Yana Zinkevich at the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine in 2014. Then Russia annexed Crimea and began hostilities in the east of the country.
The slogan of the Hospitalliers is "For the sake of every life". They prove, every day, that for them, these are not just words.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
St. Volodymyr Institute, 620 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Canada
CAD 0.00