Themes by tag: women

Diana Obzhelyan, 21, studied the Chinese language at Kyiv University and planned to become a translator. However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine upended her path. She switched to part-time studies and became a deminer with HALO Ukraine.

Diana spent a year demining the northern Ukraine and now teaches people how to stay safe from mines and other explosive hazards.

Journalists can arrange to speak with Diana, who works in various regions of Ukraine.

Background: HALO Ukraine is the Ukrainian program of The HALO Trust, the world’s largest non-governmental, non-profit humanitarian demining organization. For the past 37 years, The HALO Trust has been clearing mines and explosive ordnance in 30 countries worldwide.

• women
• demining

When russia launched its full-scale invasion, Maryna Bohush’s husband’s brother joined the territorial defense. In May 2022, he was deployed to reinforce positions near Bakhmut and went missing. At the time, Maryna was on maternity leave, but she began attending every available event in hopes of learning what happened to her relative. In 2023, she founded the Women of the Territorial Defense Forces Association of Families of Territorial Defense Defenders, which now unites families from 25 territorial defense brigades of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

During one of her search trips, Maryna met Iryna Taranova. Iryna’s son had enlisted in the first days of the war and disappeared in December 2022 near Bakhmut. The women decided to join efforts in their search, leading to the creation of the WOMEN’S FAMILY NGO. The group’s co-founder, opera singer Olena Hrebeniuk, also plays a key role by engaging artists in the organization’s events. Regional coordinators across Ukraine provide additional support to the team.

By prior arrangement, journalists may meet with Maryna Bohush and Iryna Taranova in Kyiv. Relatives of missing persons will also be available for interviews on August 29 during the nationwide event Silent Voices: When Absence Screams, dedicated to the International Day of the Disappeared.

• military
• women
• Kyiv

Daria Ulman is the wife of soldier Kyrylo Ulman, who was killed in action on February 15, 2024. At the start of the full-scale invasion, Daria’s husband joined the ranks of the Volunteer Territorial Defense Unit in Dnipro, established by veterans of the 12th Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. In December 2022, he became part of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade as a member of an anti-tank battalion. Kyrylo was killed by a sniper’s bullet.

Daria shares that her husband was passionate about military affairs. After his death, she regretted not having started training alongside Kyrylo. Over the past year, Daria has completed six courses and undergone two full-scale training programs. She later founded her own community, which focuses on military training for women, naming it Community Ulman in honor of her fallen beloved.

To date, 30 women have already participated in the training sessions, and the project has successfully donated 76,000 hryvnias to Kyrylo’s fellow soldiers.

Journalists will have the opportunity to cover the training sessions, which will take place in Kyiv on August 30–31.

Interviews with Daria Ulman can be arranged online or in person in Kyiv, by prior agreement.

• dead
• military
• women
• Kyiv

Anhelina Shostak, a native of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, now destroyed and under russian occupation, has devoted more than a decade to volunteer work, beginning with sewing Ukrainian flags. Her efforts started in 2014, when russia first launched its assault on eastern Ukraine. She delivered humanitarian aid to Ukrainian troops in the region and always included flags she had sewn herself.

On April 11, 2015, in Kyiv’s Independence Square, Shostak achieved her first record: a 27.2-meter friendship bracelet woven from blue and yellow ribbons, the longest of its kind. A year later, on June 18, 2016, she entered the Ukrainian Book of Records again with the largest embroidered flag, measuring 4.5 by 3 meters. Her third record came in August 2018, when she and fellow volunteers sewed a 20-by-6-meter flag. It was recognized as the largest flag lifted by balloons in the Joint Forces Operation area, funded by residents of the occupied territories.

When the full-scale war erupted, Shostak and her husband fled Bakhmut. Yet she continues her work, sewing Ukrainian flags to this day, including banners draped over the coffins of fallen soldiers.

Shostak can be reached in Kyiv, either online or in person, by prior appointment.

• culture
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

On August 26, HALO Ukraine will host the opening of the Women in Demining photo exhibition staged in Kyiv.

The project highlights Ukrainian women working across different roles in mine clearance, underscoring the importance of bringing women into fields traditionally dominated by men while offering a closer look at their career paths.

The opening ceremony will feature the women portrayed in the exhibition.

Among them is 25-year-old Tetiana Mordach, Ukraine’s first and only female diver trained in explosive ordnance disposal. Before the full-scale war, she worked as a rescue diver. When russia launched its invasion, she joined the State Emergency Service as a diver. Her work involves one of the most difficult and dangerous tasks: clearing mines and locating and neutralizing explosives. Mordach dreams of one day exploring the seabed of Crimea’s Black Sea after Ukraine’s victory.

Diana Obzhelian, 21, studied Chinese at Kyiv University and planned to become a translator. The war upended her path: she switched to part-time studies and became a deminer with HALO Ukraine. After spending a year clearing mines in the north, she now trains communities on how to stay safe from landmines and other explosive devices.

Valeriia Osyka, 23, works as a deminer in the Kharkiv region. Not long ago, her daily routine was very different, when she served as a fire and industrial safety engineer at a university in Kharkiv. Today, she says her favorite moments come when she sees nature reclaiming once-dangerous fields: “When wheat grows green again on cleared land.”

Journalists can review the full program and must register for accreditation by 2 p.m. on August 25.

Global Affairs Canada and Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture support the project. Partners include Demine Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, the National Police of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Deminers Association, MAG, FSD, UDA, NPA, and UNOPS.

HALO Ukraine is part of The HALO Trust, the world’s largest non-governmental, nonprofit humanitarian mine clearance organization. For 37 years, The HALO Trust has been clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance across 30 countries.

• women
• Kyiv
• demining

Kyrylo, 32, from Kryvyi Rih, and Svitlana, 27, from Zakarpattia, are both volunteers. They met during the first year of the full-scale invasion while traveling to a training ground. “She came up and asked if there was a seat on the bus. For a girl like that, there’s always a spot,” Kyrylo recalls about the beginning of their story.

Both ended up in the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. She served as a combat medic, he as an infantry company commander. Together, they went through a lot — fighting in Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Donetsk oblasts. Kyrylo was on the front lines, while Svitlana was on combat duty and evacuations. That’s how they started dating.

The proposal also happened at the front — on the Lyman axis in 2023. Kyrylo decided there was no point waiting for the “right moment” because, in war, anything can happen. The couple got matching tattoos of the same yellow bus where they first met, with the inscription “Love your fate”. They got married and continued serving as a military couple.

Kyrylo suffered a severe injury this May in Donetsk oblast — he stepped on an explosive device and lost his left leg. Now, he is undergoing rehabilitation and prosthetic treatment at the UNBROKEN Center. For the past two months, he has been working with physical therapists, learning to use his new “iron leg”. After completing rehab, he dreams of starting a veteran-owned business with Svitlana.

• casualties
• military
• women
• Lviv

Olena Budz, known by her call sign “Kytsia” (Kitty), is a Kyiv native who once worked as head of SMM at a film studio, leading major advertising campaigns and promoting Ukrainian cinema.

On the day a russian missile struck the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, Olena was at work, far from the blast site, but the sense of helplessness was overwhelming. It was then that she decided to complete medical training and join the volunteer medical battalion.

Since then, she has served in every evacuation role – from casevac and medevac to working at a stabilization point and on the “Avstriyka” evacuation bus. Her deployments have taken her to the Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, and Donetsk sectors.

Olena has also returned to photography, a longtime passion. During rotations, she captures portraits of crews, soldiers, the wounded, and medical personnel, using her images to tell their stories.

• doctors
• women

Anastasiia Astafieva is considered one of Kyiv’s leading specialists in tattooing and tattoo removal. Following the start of russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine, she treated a serviceman who wanted to eliminate an old tattoo. His face also bore remnants of gunpowder residue that had become lodged deep in his skin after a blast.

Astafieva attempted to remove the embedded residue with a laser typically used for tattoo removal. The advanced laser therapy results were visible after just one session. After several more, the soldier’s skin was fully restored. Impressed by the outcome, he encouraged other servicemen to seek her help. 

That marked the beginning of her work with those recovering from blast-related injuries. Today, Astafieva treats both military personnel and civilians affected by war, removing not only gunpowder but also soot and soil that have become embedded in their skin during explosions. She provides these treatments free of charge.

Anastasiia Astafieva is open to interviews both online and in person in Kyiv.

• casualties
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Anastasiia Ponomarova is originally from Mariupol. She taught geography and biology at a local school while also serving as an ambassador for robotics and programming in the Donetsk oblast. Additionally, she organized educational initiatives, including the “Mariupol Reads to Children” project, which promoted Ukrainian-language books.

When the full-scale invasion began, Anastasiia was in her hometown. She decided to evacuate in the first days, taking her cat and dog with her. However, the cat, frightened by explosions, ran away, forcing Anastasiia to leave without him. She relocated to Drohobych in the Lviv oblast. After evacuation, Anastasiia returned to drawing, creating one sketch a day. These artworks eventually formed a series that inspired the idea of therapeutic fairy tales for children. Writer Halyna Vdovychenko responded to her call for collaboration, and together, they created 12 fairy tales — publishing 24,000 copies, some of which were printed in Braille.

Anastasiia also painted over 40 landmarks of her native city — places destroyed by russian forces. These illustrations were later turned into social media sticker packs. Currently, the artist is working on a new project: therapeutic cards featuring illustrated yoga exercises.

You can speak with Anastasiia Ponomarova online or in person in Drohobych, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• women
• Lviv

Oleksii and Tetiana have been together since the start of russia’s annexation of Crimea and its offensive in eastern Ukraine. Nine years ago, Oleksii volunteered for military service, and Tetiana later joined as well.

They were initially mobilized to different units when Tetiana served as a nurse, and Oleksii as an infantryman. Later, both transferred to the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade, where they could serve in the same unit.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion, the couple was stationed in Mariinka, Donetsk Oblast. There, they began working in medical evacuation: Oleksii drives the vehicle, while Tetiana monitors and assists wounded soldiers during transport.

They note that serving together brings both increased stress and greater responsibility.

Meetings with Oleksii and Tetiana can be arranged in advance, either online or in person in Zaporizhia.

• military
• women
• Zaporizhzhia