Themes by tag: women

When the full-scale invasion began, Vesna was near the capital. After an enemy shell hit near her brother’s home, she evacuated to Kyiv with her parents. She later went abroad and lived in Germany for a year. There, she worked with Ukrainians, helping them with translations thanks to her fluency in German. In 2023, she decided to return home. She resumed her studies at the university and ultimately decided to join the military. 

Her older brother, who is also defending Ukraine in the Defense Forces, supported her decision. However, at the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC), she was denied mobilization. Instead, she joined the 13th Khartiia Brigade, which accepts women. Currently, Vesna serves in the artillery, working with personnel and monitoring the soldiers’ moral and psychological state.

Journalists can speak with Vesna online or offline by arranging an appointment with the press officer in advance.

• military
• women

Yuliia Stefaniuk is the head of the International Charity Organization World Central Kitchen’s mission in Ukraine and one of the women who, from the very first days of the full-scale invasion, joined organizing humanitarian aid in the country.

Before the full-scale war, she lived in Lviv and for over eleven years worked as the managing partner of !FEST Catering and Just Lviv It! — partner projects of the !FEST Holding of Emotions. Yuliia graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv with a degree in sociology and worked in the insurance business in Kyiv for some time.

When the invasion began, Yuliia was among the first to join World Central Kitchen in Lviv. In March 2022, she organized the first large-scale hot meal production for refugees arriving in Lviv and played an active role in creating the logistical and organizational processes that enabled WCK to rapidly scale up and operate across Ukraine, including frontline communities. To date, World Central Kitchen has provided over 290 million meals as part of its mission in Ukraine. Currently, the organization provides hot meals, distributes food and vegetable kits, supports evacuation centers, delivers water and bread to communities on the front lines, and implements long-term programs to restore local food security, particularly by helping families grow their own food and opening kitchens for internally displaced persons.

Over the course of two years during the war, Yuliia served as the executive director of the Ukraine Foundation, which was established with the support of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. She is also a co-founder of the Hachiko Pet Foundation in the United States, which supports frontline animal shelters by providing food, medical assistance, and sterilization services, as well as facilitating adoptions.

Currently, Yuliia coordinates one of the country’s largest hot meal programs, created in response to the full-scale invasion. She works tirelessly to ensure that citizens have stable and easy access to humanitarian aid, even under the most difficult conditions.

Yuliia is a mother of two children and the rescuer of a cat she adopted from the de-occupied city of Izium.

By prior arrangement, journalists have the opportunity to speak with Yuliia in person in Lviv or online.

• casualties
• food
• volunteers
• women
• Lviv

At the beginning of the war, a women’s volunteer firefighting team was formed in the Velykoomelianska community in the Rivne oblast. Alla Karpiuk, the head of this territorial community, initiated the creation of the team. She recalls responding to fires three times before the team’s formation, when houses and dry grass were burning. Alla coordinated with firefighters and assisted in saving people’s property. This experience motivated her to launch the initiative.

Currently, the firefighting team consists of 21 volunteers. Its members are local council deputies, accountants, and saleswomen. A woman who lost her husband in the war has also joined the initiative.

The team underwent professional training with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and obtained certification. The women learned first aid, how to deploy fire hoses, how to use fire extinguishers, how to work with the water supply, and more. The team also participated in a two-day international training session.

This year, the team has joined rescuers on 36 call-outs in total.

Journalists have the opportunity to speak with team members in person or online by prior arrangement.

• volunteers
• women
• Rivne

When the full-scale invasion began, Diana Rudenko was 17 years old. She worked as a waitress in her hometown of Mykolaiv and dreamed of becoming a tattoo artist. Her beloved was a defender of Mariupol and was captured by the russians. While waiting for his return, Diana learned tattooing and piercing techniques.

In January 2024, she began attending events in Mykolaiv to support prisoners of war. She had the idea to create “Needle Storm”, a project that would unite tattoo and piercing artists and involve them in charity work.

In April 2025, her beloved returned from captivity, and now he supports her work.

The third round of the “Needle Storm” initiative will take place on December 20–21. Artists from all over Ukraine are organizing charity workdays, donating all proceeds to support military needs.

You can speak with Diana Rudenko online or in person in Mykolaiv by prior arrangement.

• culture
• women
• Mykolaiv

When Olha Valianyk’s husband enlisted at the outset of russia’s all-out attack, she quickly realized how isolating the experience could be. She longed for a space where she could share her fears and frustrations with people who truly understood – without judgment, unnecessary questions, or explanations.

Motivated by that need, Valianyk launched The Power of Waiting in April 2025 in Lutsk, under the auspices of the organization Nomad Live. The initiative is designed to support partners of military personnel, offering a safe environment where they can be heard, access professional guidance, and find pathways to emotional recovery amid ongoing uncertainty.

Since its inception, the project has hosted 17 events, ranging from psychological support groups and art therapy to bodywork and nature-based practices, engaging a total of 174 women.

Journalists interested in covering the program in Lutsk can arrange to attend meetings and speak with Valianyk in person or online. Participants are also available for interviews.

• culture
• women
• Lutsk

Participants:

– Anastasiia Morozova, Program Manager, Reskilling Ukraine;

– Iryna Movchan, Program Administrator, Reskilling Ukraine;

– Viktoriia Posieva, Communications Lead, Reskilling Ukraine (online);

– Hanna Anishyna, Category C Truck Driver, project graduate;

– Anastasiia Dovbnia, CNC Operator, project graduate.

Key topics:

– Women in gender-imbalanced professions: How has the Ukrainian labor market changed since the full-scale invasion, and what opportunities have emerged?

– Free support and training programs for women in traditionally “male” professions, from truck driver to welder;

– Real-life case studies of the successful integration of women into technical and driving positions: motivation, challenges, and results.

Background: The full-scale war has significantly altered the structure of the Ukrainian labor market. Demand for technical and logistics specialties has increased, as has the need to engage women in professions that were previously hardly considered “female”. An increasing number of Ukrainian women are undergoing specialized training and retraining and are successfully working in fields that have traditionally been dominated by men.

The Reskilling Ukraine project is being implemented in Ukraine by the Swedish nonprofit organization Beredskaplsyftet. The project helps women overcome professional barriers by offering modern educational programs and opportunities to quickly master in-demand professions. Real-life stories of graduates demonstrate that women are not only mastering technical and highly skilled specialties, but also becoming drivers of the country’s economy during the war and beyond.

• women
• Kyiv

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

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

Yaroslava Shevtsova is from Svatove, in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. She owned a fitness studio there. On March 8, 2022, she and her young son were forced to flee their home when enemy troops captured Svatove. The city is now under russian occupation.

She relocated to France, where she found work, and her son started kindergarten. In October 2022, Yaroslava met Oleksandr Kolomiiets, a Ukrainian soldier who had served since 2015. The couple communicated online and dreamed of meeting in person. They met for the first time on January 2, 2023, and spent a month together. They decided that Yaroslava would return to Ukraine in June to get married.

However, on March 27, 2023, Yaroslava was informed that Oleksandr had been caught in a mortar attack and died in the hospital. Yaroslava decided to return to Vinnytsia, a city that Oleksandr considered the best in Ukraine, and live there. There, she planned to open a café in his memory.

Yaroslava lacked the necessary funds, but she was supported by a friend and Oleksandr’s brothers-in-arms. Thus, the family-friendly café “Simba” was born in Vinnytsia. The café holds charity fundraisers and supports Oleksandr’s fellow soldiers.

Yaroslava Shevtsova is available for interviews online and in person in Vinnytsia by prior arrangement.

• dead
• military
• women
• Vinnytsia