Ukrainian soldiers are relaxing in saunas set up by a former Berkeley resident

"In just a few days, Zukh will be back with his battalion on Ukraine's frontlines, where he works as a combat medic in the battle-weary Donetsk region. But for now he is safe and warm receiving a traditional vinyk treatment from a local bath master at a recovery retreat for frontline medics. He'll return to the sauna every night of the 10-day program, the experience reminding him of quiet days with his wife and children before the war."

"The time Zukh and the other 42 frontline medics attending this retreat in Ukraine's quiet Carpathian mountains are able to spend in the sauna is funded by Sauna Aid, an international charity dreamed up by former Berkeley resident Mikkel Aaland and supported by a range of Bay Area saunas."

"When news of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine reached Aaland nearly four years ago, he felt like he was witnessing the beginning of World War III. A longtime sauna enthusiast, who'd grown up with a sauna built by his Norwegian father in his family's Livermore living room, Aaland's brain immediately flickered to ways the world's sauna community could help."

Combat medic Roman Zukh and 42 other frontline medics from Ukraine's Donetsk region attend a 10-day recovery retreat in the Carpathian mountains funded by Sauna Aid, an international charity. The retreat offers traditional sauna treatments, including vinyk sessions where local bath masters use birch leaves to massage tired bodies. Zukh, who will soon return to the frontlines, finds solace in the sauna experience, which reminds him of peaceful times with his family before the war. While frontline soldiers have constructed makeshift saunas, they cannot match proper facilities. Sauna Aid was founded by Mikkel Aaland, a former Berkeley resident and lifelong sauna enthusiast whose Norwegian father built a sauna in their Livermore home. When Russia's full-scale invasion began, Aaland mobilized the global sauna community to support Ukrainian medics.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org