Themes by tag: women

Olena Yahupova, a resident of the occupied town of Kamianka-Dniprovska in the Zaporizhzhia oblast, endured captivity and forced labor at the hands of russian forces due to her pro-Ukrainian stance. Olena worked in civil service for over 20 years and was known for her Ukrainian patriotic views. She was denounced for allegedly having a husband who served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In October 2022, occupiers seized her from her home.

During her detention, Olena was subjected to torture as the russians sought information on her husband’s whereabouts and details about other individuals with pro-Ukrainian views.

She was also forced into labor slavery, compelled by the occupiers to dig trenches alongside other hostages. Olena performed this grueling work while living in inhumane conditions. She managed to secure her release after more than six months in captivity.

Now that she is safe, Olena has filed a report with law enforcement and undergone forensic medical examinations. She has been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, cerebral microangiopathy, deteriorating eyesight, and injuries to her hip and shoulder joints. She has been assigned a second-degree disability. As a result of the torture Olena endured, she is scheduled to have surgery to replace two cervical discs with implants.

Olena has been officially recognized as a person deprived of personal liberty as a result of Russian aggression, a victim of human trafficking, and a victim of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).

Journalists have the opportunity to speak with Olena in the Kyiv oblast online or in person, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

Folklorist Yaryna Sizyk, animation director Mariia Ozirna, and the Kherson Art Museum named after Oleksii Shovkunenko have launched a project dedicated to the paintings stolen by russians during the occupation of the city. According to the museum staff estimates, the occupiers looted approximately ten thousand works of art.

The project’s goal is to attempt to recreate what the Russians took away. To date, the team has managed to “reproduce” a painting by Mykhailo Bryansky (1830-1908), “Portrait of a Girl in an Embroidered Dress”. The painting was not simply repainted but was modernized and animated. Ukrainian model and singer Daria Astafieva helped “bring it to life”; the artists transformed her into the girl in the embroidered dress from the stolen canvas. For the animation, the team used a shirt that Inna Mykutska, a tour guide from Kherson, embroidered during the occupation.

The team has also recreated the oil painting “Cossacks in the Steppe” by Serhii Vasylkivsky (1854-1917). Servicemen Roman “Dobriak” Kolesnyk and Stanislav “Ref” Zorii of the Armed Forces of Ukraine participated in the reproduction of this artwork. Yaryna and Mariia added the Ukrainian folk song “Oh, There Beyond the Seas…” performed by the band Shchuka-Ryba to this animation.

The project founders are currently working on further recreations.

Yaryna Sizyk and Mariia Ozirna are available for interviews with journalists in Kyiv.

Background: Kherson was occupied by russian forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion (March 1, 2022). The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city from russian troops on November 11, 2022. The occupiers continue to shell the city regularly.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

Pastry chef Anna Voskoboinyk and her husband first discovered their passion for desserts while living in Italy. After returning to Kherson, they opened an ice cream stand that gradually expanded into a small chain. In 2019, Anna entered a competition to create a dessert that would embody the spirit of her hometown.

She spent months experimenting, drawing on childhood memories and personal associations with Kherson, until she finally crafted a cake that captured the city’s essence. The creation, aptly named the “Kherson” cake, brought Anna widespread recognition and put her confectionery on the map.

The outbreak of war, however, forced her to leave her hometown. The couple chose to rebuild their business in Vinnytsia, bringing the Kherson cake with them. Today, it is a beloved dessert across Ukraine and has even gained popularity abroad, often purchased as a gift to carry a piece of home.

Anna Voskoboinyk is available to meet and discuss her creations, either online or in person in Vinnytsia, by prior arrangement.

For reference: Kherson fell under russian occupation at the onset of the full-scale invasion on March 1, 2022. It wasn’t until November 11, 2022, that the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the city from russian control. Despite this liberation, the occupiers persist in regularly shelling the city.

• culture
• women
• Vinnytsia

Tetiana Slavinska is a canine handler from Kyiv. In 2015, her military husband returned home after rotation. At the time, Tetiana was worried about how he would adjust to civilian life and decided that a dog would help him relax emotionally. This is how a beloved family member appeared – a Belgian Malinois named Drive. The family began a new life with training, and competitions. At the end of 2022, Tetiana was able to travel to Poland, where Drive was trained to locate the deceased.

The next challenge was physical protection: body armor for the dog. Tetiana searched for protective equipment in Ukraine, Europe, and America. Simultaneously, she considered the possibility of making it herself, as foreign equivalents were very expensive. Tetiana studied foreign models of dog body armor that her military canine handler friends brought her. She also consulted with a veterinarian, because body armor is not just about protection; it’s also about the dog’s ability to move freely. Furthermore, an improperly fitted vest can harm the animal’s joints.

Tetiana experimented with different models, changing the cut and adding new elements. For example, she added a strap to the body armor at the soldiers’ request, allowing the dog to be carried if there is a risk of injuring its paws (from shrapnel, broken glass, etc.). In the summer of 2025, Tetiana received a patent for her product. Currently, she has two working dogs and is using them to help demine the country.

Journalists can speak with Tetiana in person in Kyiv or online, by prior arrangement.

• animals
• women
• Kyiv

A 20-year-old servicewoman in the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade with the call sign Bilka became a widow when her husband, Pavlo, was killed on the front lines. After losing her beloved husband, she joined the army to fight the enemy.

Bilka chose to specialize in drone operations because Pavlo was also a drone operator. Initially, she wanted to work with reconnaissance drones, but she currently pilots FPV drones. After completing her training, she began serving in the brigade, carrying out combat missions. She believes that, through her flights, she feels her husband’s presence because she is continuing his work.

Interviews with Bilka can be arranged online or in person by scheduling an appointment with the press officer in advance.

• dead
• military
• women

The Committee of the All-Ukrainian “Rushnyk of Hope” campaign invites you to join the final stage of the initiative to support the families of those missing in action and prisoners of war. The event will take place on October 1 in Kyiv.

The campaign has united thousands of women from Ukraine and the diaspora, who have embroidered the “Rushnyk of Hope” as a symbol of love, unity, and prayer for the safe return of our Heroes.

Event program:

• Addresses by defenders’ relatives;
• Greetings from representatives of state authorities;
• Participation of military chaplains, clergy, and choirs.

Registration is required to attend.

Background: The campaign organizers are the NGO “Women’s Family”, which includes the associations “Women of the Territorial Defense”, “Women of the Armed Forces”, and the NGO “Born Free 2024” (93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar”) – communities that have worked for many months to ensure missing and captured soldiers are not forgotten by society.

• culture
• women
• Kyiv

Kateryna Sadurska, a native of Kharkiv, is a champion athlete who has won gold medals at the World Championships and set world records in freediving. Throughout her life, she searched for the perfect swimsuit that could withstand chlorinated water without deteriorating.

Eventually, she decided to create such a suit herself. She chose nylon made from discarded fishing nets recovered from the sea as the material. This fabric is resistant to saltwater and chlorine, and it offers UV protection. It can also be recycled multiple times. Kateryna designed the swimsuits and found a manufacturer in Kharkiv to produce her first collection. The project’s scaling plans were disrupted by the full-scale russian invasion, and Kateryna considered closing production. However, loyal customers kept asking if more swimsuits would be available, so she decided to keep the business going.

Kateryna Sadurska is available for interviews online and in person in Kharkiv from October 7-9 by prior arrangement.

Background: Kateryna Sadurska won first place in the Constant Weight Bifins (CWTB) discipline at the 2025 World Championship, which was held under the auspices of the International Association for the Development of Freediving (AIDA). The Ukrainian athlete dove to a depth of 97 meters, setting a new national record for Ukraine. This marks her second gold medal at this tournament. Sadurska’s collection now includes nine World Championship gold medals.

• culture
• women
• Kharkiv

In January 2018, Ona Uzoma Asompta, who was born in Nigeria, moved to Ukraine to pursue a medical education. She fell in love with Ukrainian culture, however, and after completing her studies, she decided to stay in Kyiv. After the full-scale invasion began, she evacuated to Portugal, but later chose to return to Kyiv despite the dangers.

Today, Ona does not work in the medical field. Instead, she works as a model and runs a social media blog where she shares insights about her life in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, she has also begun learning Ukrainian.

Ona Uzoma Asompta is available for interviews, both online and in person in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• women
• Kyiv

Before 2014, Mariia Fenenko lived in the Volnovakha district of the Donetsk oblast. As a child, she enjoyed helping her grandfather organize family photo albums and watching him take pictures. When Mariia moved to Donetsk to study, her mother gave her a gift – her first camera. She soon began receiving commissions for her photography and earning her own income. However, after russia first attacked Ukraine, Mariia was forced to leave her homeland and relocate to Kyiv.

In the capital, she resumed her studies and seriously dedicated herself to photography, turning her passion into a profession. Starting with the gift camera, she built a portfolio and saved up for a better used camera. Over the next decade, she became an accomplished photographer.

Today, Mariia contributes her skills to charitable projects that support the Ukrainian military and internally displaced persons. She dreams of capturing her most meaningful photograph yet: a free, de-occupied Donetsk oblast.

Mariia is available for interviews, both online and in person in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

Alina Kirina spent much of her childhood in her grandmother’s dental office. The early exposure influenced her career path. Despite her family’s warnings about the long, costly road to becoming a doctor, she chose the profession anyway, and earned her degree.

Her path, however, was anything but simple. In 2014, as a dental student, she fled her hometown of Luhansk with nothing but a backpack when russia first launched its assault in eastern Ukraine.

Together with her future husband, now a National Police officer and combat veteran, Kirina started over in Svatove, Luhansk region. For years she worked for others while quietly dreaming of opening her own clinic.

That dream was still out of reach when russia escalated its all-out invasion in February 2022. But this time, the couple knew how to act fast. Within hours of the first strikes, they had packed their car and driven to safety in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

In Dnipro, Kirina resolved to leap forward. With the help of a grant from the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, she opened her own dental office. The practice is more than a business – it carries a mission of service. Every Thursday, she and her team offer free consultations to service members, their families, and displaced people. Ukrainian defenders also receive discounted care.

Kirina is available for interviews in Dnipro, either in person or online by appointment.

• doctors
• women
• Dnipro