Themes by tag: military

Volodymyr Ryzhenko, a combat medic with the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov, was recognized as the best European medic of 2025 in the category of military medicine after performing a high-risk rescue operation in the field.

During the winter of 2025, in the Toretsk direction, an Azov shelter came under enemy fire. One soldier suffered a severe neck injury and life-threatening blood loss. To save precious time, the brigade’s medical service dispatched blood directly to the position via drone, pre-warmed for the transfusion, along with the instruments Ryzhenko needed.

The medic carried out the procedure inside an armored combat vehicle, which advanced toward the evacuation point despite the ongoing danger. Thanks to his swift action, the wounded soldier was successfully transported to a “stabilization point,” the medical posts closest to the front lines where wounded soldiers receive emergency first aid.

In August 2025, Ryzhenko received the award in the “Military Medicine” category at the Combat Medical Care Conference, Europe’s largest event of its kind, held in Germany.

Volodymyr Ryzhenko is available for interviews by prior arrangement with the press service, and journalists can also access video footage of the rescue operation.

• doctors
• military

Until 2022, Tetiana Khimion was a ballroom dance instructor in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, teaching students who would go on to become world champions. She also served as a judge at international dance competitions on multiple occasions.

When the full-scale invasion reached her hometown, her husband immediately joined the territorial defense, and Tetiana began volunteering to support the war effort. But volunteering soon felt insufficient. Determined to take a more active role, she enlisted in the Special Operations Forces, completed rigorous training, and became a sniper. Known by her call sign Tango, she has seen combat near Kherson, Kurakhove, and Netailove in Donetsk Oblast.

During her service, Tetiana was wounded three times, most recently in an attack involving a drone. She sustained injuries to her back, torso, and both legs, requiring eight operations. Doctors say her leg may never fully recover, yet she remains undeterred. Tetiana trains daily, committed to regaining her strength and returning to active duty.

Tetiana Khimion is available to meet or chat online by appointment in Donetsk Oblast.

• casualties
• military
• women

From November 30 to December 7, participants from across Ukraine will compete in nine adaptive sports at HART, the country’s first national multisport event for military veterans recovering from injuries, wounds, or illnesses sustained in the defense of Ukraine.

Team events will include wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and sitting volleyball. Individual competitions will feature archery, indoor rowing on a simulator, laser run, powerlifting, cycling, and swimming.

Athletes are free to join.

For reference: Around the world, adaptive athletics have become a cornerstone of veteran rehabilitation. In the United States, the Warrior Games have spurred thousands of recovery programs. In the United Kingdom, the Invictus Games reshaped public attitudes toward wounded service members. Similar initiatives in Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia have helped build statewide “sport-based recovery” programs that integrate rehabilitation, mentorship, and social inclusion.

Ukraine is following suit. With support from Ukrgasbank, the Come Back Alive Initiative Center and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs have launched HART as a comprehensive sports-based rehabilitation effort for veterans.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale invasion, 18-year-old Dmytro Tereshchenko planned to become a boxer. However, on February 24, 2022, he enlisted in the Territorial Defense in the Chernihiv oblast. He served on the border and later deployed with his unit to the eastern front.

In March 2023, Dmytro sustained multiple injuries in the Luhansk oblast, and doctors had to amputate his leg. The veteran underwent treatment in Ukraine for five months before traveling to the United States for a prosthetic fitting. During this time, his military unit listed him as AWOL (absent without leave), which halted all his payments. He is now engaged in a legal battle to have this status revoked and his payments restored.

A photographer in America suggested that Dmytro try modeling. After returning to Ukraine, the veteran compiled a portfolio and sent it to modeling agencies. He began his career with a presentation of an adaptive clothing collection. He also walked the runway at Ukrainian Fashion Week this year.

Dmytro Tereshchenko is available for interviews online and in person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Participants:

– Olena Belyachkova, coordinator for families of POWs and missing persons groups, Media Initiative for Human Rights;

– Natalia Shubak, mother of a conscript soldier missing in action near Soledar;

– Oleh Hushchyn, representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War;

– Representative of the Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances;

– Representative of the Headquarters of the National Guard of Ukraine. 

Key topics: 

– Why the deployment of pre-war conscripts to frontline combat remains largely unaddressed;

– Inequalities in military benefits for pre-war conscripts and their families compared with contract soldiers and soldiers called up for wartime service;

– Pathways to ensure pre-war conscripts are prioritized in prisoner exchanges under the Istanbul Agreements. 

Background: When russia’s full-scale invasion began, conscripts from National Guard 3017 Spartan Military Unit, enlisted under peacetime obligations and stationed in Kharkiv with families expecting their eventual demobilization, remained in service. In 2023, instead of returning home, these conscripts were deployed to the Bakhmut front, where fighting was at its most intense. Currently, at least 35 National Guard conscripts remain missing or in captivity.

• military
• Kyiv

Oksana and Volodymyr met in 2020 through social media. The couple was together for two years and was planning their future together when their dreams were shattered by the full-scale invasion.

In 2013, Volodymyr participated in the Revolution of Dignity, after which he joined the Ukrainian military as a volunteer. After nearly a year of service, he was captured near Ilovaisk in the Donetsk oblast. He spent nine months in captivity before returning to civilian life following a prisoner exchange. With the start of the full-scale war, he took up arms once again. Volodymyr was killed in action in Bakhmut in July 2022.

After learning of her loved one’s death, Oksana created the “Have To Live” online community for the wives of fallen soldiers. Volodymyr had once given gifts to the children of deceased soldiers on St. Nicholas Day, a tradition that Oksana continued. The women’s community has since grown to six thousand members. Oksana established a charitable foundation and assembled a team of specialists to support those navigating loss and grief. The women work with psychologists, receive legal support, and help develop a new culture of remembrance for the fallen.

Oksana Borkun is available for interviews online and in person in Irpin, Kyiv oblast, by prior arrangement.

• dead
• military
• women
• Kyiv

In February 2022, Olena Kozobrod turned 56. She was a music teacher, but on the first day of the full-scale invasion, she decided to join the army. Olena wanted to support her daughter, who graduated early from a military institute and now serves in the Special Operations Center.

Although she had wanted to, Olena did not end up on the front lines. Instead, she became a clerk in the 93rd Mechanized Brigade Kholodnyi Yar.

Adapting to military life was difficult for her, and Olena often cried during the first year. Over these three years, however, her colleagues’ attitude toward her has changed dramatically, and she is now considered “one of their own”. She occasionally posts videos of herself singing on social media. One day, a follower — who was also a serviceman recently demobilized due to age — contacted her. The two began communicating, and during one of Olena’s leaves, they got married. She will soon turn 60 and therefore plans to leave the army to live with her husband.

Olena Kozobrod is available for interviews online and in person in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast by prior arrangement.

• military
• women
• Dnipro

Early this winter, Kyiv will host HART, Ukraine’s first national multisport event for military veterans recovering from injuries, wounds, or illnesses sustained in the defense of the country. From November 30 to December 7, participants from across Ukraine will compete in nine adaptive sports.

Team events will include wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and sitting volleyball. Individual competitions will feature archery, indoor rowing on a simulator, laser run, powerlifting, cycling, and swimming.

Athletes are free to join.

Around the world, adaptive athletics have become a cornerstone of veteran rehabilitation. In the United States, the Warrior Games have spurred thousands of recovery programs. In the United Kingdom, the Invictus Games reshaped public attitudes toward wounded service members. Similar initiatives in Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia have helped build statewide “sport-based recovery” programs that integrate rehabilitation, mentorship, and social inclusion.

Ukraine is following suit. With support from Ukrgasbank, the Come Back Alive Initiative Center and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs have launched HART as a comprehensive sports-based rehabilitation effort for veterans.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Valentyn Polianskyi is 24, but three of those years were spent in Russian captivity. A native of Ukraine’s Kherson region, he signed a contract with the 36th Separate Marine Brigade at 21 and soon found himself on the front lines of Russia’s full-scale assault. By February 26, 2022, he was stationed at the Illich steel plant in Mariupol, helping to secure provisions for approximately 130 troops as the siege tightened.

When the order to surrender was issued, his partner pleaded with him to do whatever it took to survive and come home. She was pregnant at the time; their daughter was born after he had already been taken prisoner.

Polianskyi says he endured three years of severe abuse in detention. He recalls beatings, electric shocks, routine humiliation, food deprivation, and being forced to memorize Russian songs. He was released on April 19, 2025, as part of a prisoner exchange.

After returning home, Polianskyi married and initially considered rejoining his brigade, but his wife asked him not to go back to the front. He is now working to rebuild his life and adjust to civilian routines.

Those wishing to meet or speak with him can do so, both online or in person in Khmelnytskyi, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Khmelnytskyi

On November 25, the Human Rights Center for Military Personnel and Veterans, ‘Pryncyp’, will unveil its newly developed Legal Navigator for foreign service members in Kyiv. Representatives from units where international fighters serve will attend the event.

During the presentation, experts will introduce the Navigator, a tool designed to help foreign troops, veterans, and their families navigate legal issues and protect their rights. The resource will be available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. 

There will also be a discussion on the specific legal challenges faced by international service members in Ukraine.

Journalists must register to attend the event.

• military
• Kyiv