Themes by tag: military

Before the full-scale invasion, Nataliia and Vadym Kovpak lived in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region (the city has been under russian occupation since February 27, 2022).

On February 24, 2022, the family moved to Khmelnytskyi region, where they rebuilt their lives from scratch. Vadym decided to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces and continues to serve. After he was wounded, the family encountered indifference from the management of some institutions that were supposed to assist with soldiers’ rehabilitation. As a result, Nataliia decided to establish her own rehabilitation center for service members.

In 2023, she opened the “Postava” center. The initiative was supported by the Ukrainian Veterans Fund. Most services for military personnel at the center are free of charge, and Nataliia says she helps other soldiers the same way she would help her own husband.

Journalists can speak with Nataliia Kovpak both online and offline in Kamianets-Podilskyi after March 5, 2026.

• casualties
• military
• volunteers
• women
• Khmelnytskyi

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Lviv will traditionally honor the memory of fallen Ukrainian defenders. On the evening of February 23, beams of remembrance will illuminate the sky above city cemeteries as a symbol of gratitude, sorrow, and enduring memory.

This year, the beams will shine over five fields of honorary burials. A joint prayer and the lighting of memorial candles will also take place.

• dead
• military
• Lviv

Oleksandr Demchenko is a military anesthesiologist. In 2016, he volunteered for mobilization. After the start of the full-scale invasion, he became one of those who agreed to go to Azovstal, where Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol were holding the line under siege.

The team boarded a Mi-8 helicopter that flew at extremely low altitude. Later, they were transferred to a boat that successfully reached the surrounded metallurgical plant. Oleksandr recalls his work at Azovstal as a routine he managed to maintain despite extremely difficult conditions, a shortage of medicines, and constant shelling. He performed surgeries, dressings, and monitored the condition of the wounded.

In May 2022, Oleksandr and his fellow soldiers went into russian captivity. He was taken to a penal colony in Olenivka in the occupied Donetsk region, where he was held for three months. Oleksandr survived the attack carried out by russians in Olenivka, which killed more than fifty Ukrainian prisoners of war.

In September 2022, he was returned to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange. Almost immediately, Oleksandr resumed his duties and continues to serve.

Journalists can speak with Oleksandr online or offline in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

For reference: The defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. By order of the command, Ukrainian defenders ceased resistance, left Azovstal, and surrendered into enemy captivity. On May 20, 2022, Mariupol fell under russian occupation.

• doctors
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Khrystyna’s husband was killed on December 6, 2022, while carrying out a combat mission. At the time, she was nine months pregnant. Nine days after losing her beloved, Khrystyna gave birth to their daughter, Sofia. Her father had chosen the name for her before he was killed.

Sofia has an older brother, 9-year-old Matvii. The boy was very close to his father. For him, as for the entire family, the loss became a painful blow.

One day at school, during a lesson called “I Explore the World,” the children were asked to draw a picture and answer the question: whom would you like to see if you could go back to the past? Matvii drew his father and wrote under the picture that he would like to see him.

The family was not left alone with their grief. They are supported by the “Children of Heroes” Foundation, which gives the children gifts for holidays and birthdays and organizes lectures and courses. Matvii attends a speed-reading course, which helps him grow and find new sources of strength. Khrystyna, meanwhile, is taking an art therapy course as a way to process her grief, regain inner balance, and find the strength to move forward.

By prior arrangement, journalists may speak with the family online.

• dead
• military
• women

Before the full-scale invasion, Yana Zalevska had never considered military service. But after spending a month and a half in occupied Kherson, she decided to enlist. Even the fact that her husband — a Canadian citizen — was waiting for her abroad did not stop her.

Yana joined the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk, where she served as a military journalist and later as a combat medic. She subsequently completed training and continued her service as a drone operator. In 2024, she was wounded, underwent eight surgeries, and faced a long and difficult rehabilitation.

After recovering, Yana returned to service — this time with the 141st Separate Mechanized Brigade, which is currently holding the defense line in the Pokrovsk direction. Alongside combat drone missions, she trains new specialists for the all-women UAV operators platoon known as “Amazonky Banshi.”

Journalists may arrange an online interview with Yana Zalevska by prior agreement.

• casualties
• military
• women

Daria Borysenko is a servicemember with the callsign “Hilka” and the commander of an all-female crew within the “Typhoon” unmanned systems unit. She had been preparing for the large-scale war since 2021, attending various training sessions and military courses. On February 24, she reported to the military enlistment office and by the evening was already heading to defend Hostomel in the Kyiv region.

Over time, Daria became a strike drone pilot, and more recently she took command of an all-female strike UAV crew within the National Guard of Ukraine’s “Typhoon” unit. The group consists of four servicewomen who previously served in different crews.

An interview with Daria can be arranged online or offline by prior appointment and in coordination with the press officer.

For reference: The separate special-purpose unmanned systems unit “Typhoon” was established in 2024. The unit specializes in modern technologies, with its main areas of work focused on the use of drones and robotic systems.

• military
• women

Before the full-scale invasion, Nataliia lived with her family in Okhtyrka, in the Sumy region. She made custom furniture, while her husband worked as a mechanic at a service station. The couple has three children: a 26-year-old daughter and two sons aged 12 and 17.

On February 24, 2022, Okhtyrka came under constant russian shelling. The family managed to leave the city. Soon after, Nataliia’s mother’s house was hit directly.

Nataliia and her family evacuated to the Poltava region, where they lived for several months. After russian troops withdrew from the Sumy region, the family returned home. Her husband resumed work at the service station, and Nataliia also found a job. However, restoring their normal life proved impossible. At first, her husband repaired equipment for the military free of charge. Later, he himself joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was killed while defending the Motherland. His body was not recovered immediately.

For the family, the loss of a father and beloved husband was a heavy blow.In search of support, the family joined the programs of the charitable foundation “Children of Heroes” and also received psychological assistance. The sons, Yehor and Matvii, are now beneficiaries of the foundation. After her husband’s death, Nataliia and her children moved to the Volyn region.

By prior arrangement, journalists may speak with the family online.

• dead
• military
• women

In civilian life, Kateryna Sokolenko worked as a nurse in the village of Fedorivka in the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region. Long before the full-scale invasion, she became known for her vocal performances on the shows “X-Factor” and “Ukraine’s Got Talent.”

In 2016, she joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a senior nurse. Since then, Kateryna has been saving the lives of Ukrainian service members. She was already serving in the military when the full-scale invasion began. Currently, Kateryna holds the position of medical instructor in the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.

She believes that military service is her true calling. At the same time, she has put her singing career on hold, although she occasionally performs for her fellow soldiers.

An interview with Kateryna can be arranged online or offline in Kyiv on February 20–21 by prior appointment and in coordination with the press officer.

• doctors
• military
• women

Volodymyr Aleksandrov is 47 years old. He is originally from Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, where he was mobilized in May 2025. He joined the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade and carried out combat missions in the Donetsk region together with his fellow soldiers.

Volodymyr and his comrade Ihor, who is currently considered missing in action, were holding a position. That day, food supplies were dropped to them by drone. The package had to be retrieved near one of the buildings. When the soldiers approached the structure, they came under automatic gunfire. Both Ukrainian fighters were wounded — the russians decided to keep Volodymyr alive and take him captive.

The occupiers inspected the Ukrainian position, where there was a generator, water, communication equipment, and food, and decided to move there together with the wounded Volodymyr. For several days, the russians forced the Ukrainian soldier to contact his command and assure them that everything was fine. Eventually, the food and water at the position ran out and the power supply failed. The uninjured russians then abandoned their wounded comrades along with Volodymyr and went in search of water. The Ukrainian serviceman persuaded two wounded russian soldiers to surrender to Ukrainian forces. The Defense Forces of Ukraine prepared an evacuation operation, involving more than three dozen personnel, including drone operators and unmanned ground vehicle crews, medics, technicians, and reconnaissance units. Ultimately, Volodymyr and one enemy soldier were brought back to Ukrainian positions.

An interview with Volodymyr can be arranged online by prior appointment and in coordination with the press officer.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• evacuation

On May 8, 2022, Maryna Aleksiuk, a repair workshop technician of an anti-aircraft missile division, was killed at Azovstal. She had been defending Ukraine since 2015. Her daughters — 14-year-old Olena and 11-year-old Oleksandra — were left without their mother.

Mykola Ivanchenko has been fighting since 2014, when russia first launched its aggression against Ukraine, serving in the “Azov” regiment.

He met Maryna in December 2018. Both were divorced at the time. When they began living together, Maryna’s daughters did not immediately accept him. Over time, however, he earned their trust.

The family initially lived in Mariupol and moved to Berdiansk in the Zaporizhzhia region in 2021. That is where the full-scale war found them.

On February 24, 2022, Maryna left for Azovstal with her unit as part of the “Azov” regiment. Mykola arranged with his command to remain in Berdiansk with the children, waiting for his wife’s return. When russian forces occupied the city, he and the girls spent a month under occupation. Only by a miracle were they able to safely evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

After receiving news of Maryna’s death, Mykola took Olena and Oleksandra under his guardianship. They now live together in the Kyiv region. The girls are in the 9th and 6th grades. Olena is interested in Korean culture and music, while Oleksandra enjoys painting by numbers.

Journalists can access Mykola’s full story and schedule an interview with him.

• children
• dead
• military