Themes by tag: casualties

Before the russian aggression began, Natalia Lishchyshyna lived in the Luhansk region. When russia first attacked Ukraine in 2014, she began volunteering and providing support to the military.

In 2021, Natalia signed a contract with the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade. Her husband supported this decision. She met the beginning of the full-scale invasion in the Mykolaiv region, where her unit was based.

In 2024, Natalia became seriously ill and was diagnosed with Mintz’s disease, which involves the formation of intraductal papillomas in the mammary glands.

Natalia underwent three surgeries, including a complete bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts). She is the only female veteran in Ukraine who has succeeded in proving that her condition was caused by the prolonged wearing of body armor.

Natalia has begun working as an expert supporting war veterans and demobilized military personnel. She is also studying in veteran programs, including the Tribe Project by Amnesty International Ukraine. She is also trying to draw the authorities’ attention to the problem of injuries sustained by women in military service.

Natalia Lishchyshyna is available for interviews, both online and in person in the Vinnytsia region, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• women
• Vinnytsia

Khrystyna Drahomaretska, a 28-year-old trained architect, has stepped away from her profession to rescue animals amid Ukraine’s war, where she works as a stray animal catcher and evacuates pets from active combat areas.

She carries on despite constant danger from enemy shelling. In Toretsk in the Donetsk region, three russian guided aerial bombs detonated near her. In Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, she sustained shrapnel wounds while rescuing animals as russian forces hammered the area with mortar fire.

Originally focused on sterilization missions, Khrystyna has spent the past year leading evacuation efforts, pulling abandoned and stray animals out of frontline zones and finding them foster or permanent homes.

She also founded a shelter in the Odesa region, where many of the evacuated animals are taken for treatment, socialization, and rehoming, about 70 percent eventually find adoptive families abroad. The facility currently houses around 250 dogs.

Journalists interested in learning more about her work or arranging an interview can reach out to speak with her online or in person in Odesa, Kyiv, or Kharkiv, by appointment.

For reference: Khrystyna Drahomaretska conducts her rescue operations in partnership with the 12 Vartovykh Charitable Foundation and Animal Rescue Kharkiv. She is also part of the UAnimals rescue mission.

• animals
• casualties
• women
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv
• Odesa
• evacuation

For the past three years, the InNikos canine therapy center in Kyiv has provided a unique form of support, bringing together therapy dogs, professional dog trainers, psychologists, and rehabilitation specialists to aid in the mental and physical recovery of those impacted by Russia’s war.

The center serves a wide range of clients, including active-duty military personnel, families of service members, internally displaced persons, children who endured occupation, and others affected by the conflict. All sessions are offered free of charge, available either in group settings or one-on-one.

Six therapy dogs currently work at the facility. The most experienced are Chelsea, a mixed breed, and Freya, a miniature schnauzer, both 11 years old. The youngest is Sunny, a two-year-old Australian shepherd. Two Belgian shepherds, set to turn one in February, are now in training and preparing for certification.

Similar canine therapy programs are also up and running in Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Myrhorod.

Journalists interested in covering the center’s work in the capital are welcome by prior arrangement.

The InNikos center operates with support from the Royal Canin Foundation.

• animals
• casualties
• psychological support
• Kyiv

In 2025, Cooper, a 20-year-old Canadian, came to Ukraine and joined the 13th National Guard Khartiia Brigade as a combat medic. That same autumn, he participated in the Kupiansk operation with the Khartiia search and strike group.

Cooper managed to provide aid to over 50 soldiers involved in assault operations. During the operation, Cooper was wounded when he stepped on a mine. He applied a tourniquet and stopped the massive bleeding himself. He documented the entire process on camera, from the insertion and clearing of the landing zone, to rescuing his comrades, to his own injury and evacuation.

As a result of the injury, the soldier lost his leg. He is currently in the hospital awaiting a prosthesis and plans to return to the military.

Cooper is available for interviews, both online and in person, by prior arrangement with the press officer. His video of the combat mission is also available.

• casualties
• military

Yevhen Tkachov manages the Proliska humanitarian center in Donetsk Oblast. A veterinarian by trade and a volunteer by calling, he has spent 11 years evacuating civilians from towns on the front lines. His mission intensified after russia’s full-scale invasion, and he worked in Bakhmut, Siversk, and Soledar. He delivers aid and provides care for people and animals affected by the conflict.

Yevhen continues these evacuations today, facing challenges like russian drone attacks and the aggressor country’s blatant disregard for humanitarian law. According to Yevhen, evacuations are also hindered by the people themselves, who are difficult to persuade to leave despite all the dangers.

Years before the full-scale war, Yevhen established a hospice for the elderly in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk oblast. It was destroyed by russian forces in 2022, forcing the relocation of its patients to the Khmelnytskyi oblast. His family, including his son, now helps sustain this vital work.

Yevhen Tkachov is available for interviews online or in person by appointment.

• animals
• casualties
• volunteers
• evacuation

Mykhailo Varvarych joined the Ukrainian military in 2016. He served in the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade, defending eastern Ukraine. He was supposed to return to civilian life in February 2022, but due to the start of the full-scale invasion, he continued his service.

On May 29, 2022, while on a combat mission in the Luhansk oblast, Mykhailo sustained severe injuries, losing both legs and severely damaging his arm. After treatment and rehabilitation, the veteran learned to use prosthetics and married his fiancée, Iryna. The couple faced profound joy and tragedy when their daughter, Martusia, was born in December 2024, only to pass away three months later in March 2025.

Now, Mykhailo and Iryna share their ongoing journey through social media, offering an intimate look at their life, their struggles, and their hard-won perspective on maintaining hope.

You can connect with Mykhailo and Iryna Varvarych online or in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Lviv

Before the full-scale invasion, Ruslan Ivanov worked as a production designer in the film industry. On the first day of the full-scale war, he joined the Ukrainian military. Initially, he fought near Kyiv, later defending eastern Ukraine alongside his brothers-in-arms. In the fall of 2023, Ruslan was severely injured and lost his arm.

During evacuation, Ruslan lost a critical amount of blood. Medics could not find a pulse and presumed he had died. Ruslan was about to be taken to the morgue when he groaned. This is what saved him.

After receiving treatment and undergoing rehabilitation, the veteran was fitted with a prosthesis and adaptive training straps. He later returned to his work in film. Ruslan is currently employed and training for a new record: performing a one-armed push-up with 100 kilograms. He has already set another record: he and seven other amputees pulled two buses full of passengers.

You can contact Ruslan Ivanov online or in person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

Maryna Chernyshova is originally from Mariupol. She and her family were in their hometown when the full-scale invasion began. For over a month, Maryna and her loved ones endured life in the city under russian attacks, spending most of their time hiding from enemy shelling in a basement. Living with them was Maryna’s cat, Marcy. The cat provided emotional support for the entire family, helping them stay calm during that terrible time.

When they finally managed to evacuate from Mariupol, Marcy left with them. The family made their way to the Ternopil oblast, where Maryna began contemplating the creation of an anti-stress space. After noticing the many stray cats in Ternopil, she decided to open a cat café.

Funded by her own savings and a grant from the National Network for the Development of Local Philanthropy, the café now houses rescued cats — some are adopted, others live there permanently. It also hosts free events for people affected by the war. The café was recently awarded the “People’s Favorite Space” distinction.

Maryna Chernyshova is available for interviews online or in person, in Ternopil, by prior arrangement.

• animals
• casualties
• occupation
• women
• Mariupol
• Ternopil

Serhii Herasymenko had spent 15 years immersed in martial arts before russia’s full-scale invasion. An international master of sports in kickboxing and a European champion, he stepped away from his professional career in 2019, unable to earn a living from the ring.

When the war erupted, Herasymenko and his wife threw themselves into volunteering in Kyiv. He tried to enlist right away, but his documents were stuck in Chernihiv, then under heavy russian assault.

Once the city became accessible, he made his way there and joined the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. In early 2024, the soldier transitioned to infantry, assuming the role of platoon commander. On July 28 that year, Herasymenko suffered devastating injuries: advancing on a position in the Lyman sector with his unit, an enemy drone strike shattered a bone in his arm and cost him his leg.

After a grueling series of operations, treatment, and rehabilitation, Herasymenko turned his focus to preparing for a veterans’ boxing tournament. He went on to compete in the event, held at Kyiv’s Palace of Sports. Today, he coaches boxing while continuing to train on his own.

You can reach out to Serhii Herasymenko for an interview, either online or in person in Kyiv, by arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

Former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko joined Ukraine’s territorial defense forces on the first day of russia’s full-scale invasion. When russian troops occupied the southern city in early March 2022, the 62-year-old former official went underground. He also took part in public rallies against the occupation, joining thousands of Kherson residents who defied russian forces. The largest demonstration, on March 13, 2022, drew more than 10,000 people into the streets.

In April that year, russian forces abducted Mykolaienko. He was held for more than two weeks at a police station in Kherson that the russian military had converted into a makeshift detention and torture site. According to accounts of his captivity, he was subjected to repeated beatings, interrogations, and abuse.

From Kherson, Mykolaienko was transferred to occupied Sevastopol and later moved twice more between detention facilities. He returned home on Aug. 24, 2025, as part of another prisoner exchange. Before that, he had twice refused to be included in swaps, opting instead to give his place to another captive who was gravely ill.

Mykolaienko is still recovering from the physical and psychological toll of his imprisonment. Even so, he has already resumed efforts to help secure the release of other Ukrainians held in russian captivity.

He can be reached for online or in-person meetings in Kherson by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kherson