Themes by tag: women
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, 25-year-old Iryna Masna was a student at the Zhytomyr College of Culture and Arts. In 2021, she moved to Poland. When the war escalated in February 2022, she began volunteering at a support center for Ukrainian refugees there.
After returning to Ukraine, she enrolled at the Zhytomyr Medical Institute to train as a nurse.
In March 2024, Iryna Masna, operating under the call sign “Prymara” (Ukrainian for “ghost”), joined the 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov.” Since October 2025, she has served with the 20th Liubart Operational Brigade of the 1st Azov Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine.
Her first truly intense experience came in the summer of 2024 in the Serebryanskyi Forest. While working alone at a casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) point, a group of combat engineers detonated a mine at the casualty transfer site, leaving several men badly wounded. “Prymara” and another medic divided the patients: he took the less severely injured, while she handled the more critical cases. Inside the moving evacuation vehicle, she struggled to insert catheters and control bleeding.
One soldier, his leg badly torn, insisted she first give pain relief to his comrade suffering from severe burns. She followed his request, and later second-guessed herself intensely. “I made a terrible mistake then,” she said. “I’m thankful both are alive, but I realized the man with the thigh wound needed urgent blood control, and I didn’t properly assess whether he was in shock.” The episode became a defining lesson; she has never again allowed herself to become rattled in high-pressure moments.
Across her service, Iryna has worked as a medic at triage points, a CASEVAC and MEDEVAC evacuation specialist, and a tactical medicine instructor for fellow troops.
Not every life she helps save results in a message of thanks. Not all the wounded track her down later through messengers or mutual contacts. Yet every note that does arrive serves as a quiet confirmation that she is exactly where she is meant to be.
Today, “Prymara” continues serving as both a frontline medic and an instructor. For her dedication to saving lives, Iryna Masna has been awarded the “For Saving Lives” medal.
Journalists interested in interviewing Iryna Masna can arrange online or in-person interviews through the brigade’s press service.
Maryna Chernyshova is originally from Mariupol. She and her family were in their hometown when the full-scale invasion began. For over a month, Maryna and her loved ones endured life in the city under russian attacks, spending most of their time hiding from enemy shelling in a basement. Living with them was Maryna’s cat, Marcy. The cat provided emotional support for the entire family, helping them stay calm during that terrible time.
When they finally managed to evacuate from Mariupol, Marcy left with them. The family made their way to the Ternopil oblast, where Maryna began contemplating the creation of an anti-stress space. After noticing the many stray cats in Ternopil, she decided to open a cat café.
Funded by her own savings and a grant from the National Network for the Development of Local Philanthropy, the café now houses rescued cats — some are adopted, others live there permanently. It also hosts free events for people affected by the war. The café was recently awarded the “People’s Favorite Space” distinction.
Maryna Chernyshova is available for interviews online or in person, in Ternopil, by prior arrangement.
Tetiana is the mother of four-year-old Nazar. Before russia’s full-scale invasion, she and her husband enjoyed an ordinary family life in Ukraine – a home, plans for the future, and dreams they shared.
Her husband, Vitalii, was a career officer, a captain in Ukraine’s Armed Forces. After graduating from the military academy, he dove straight into service. For him, it wasn’t just a job; it was a deliberate calling, a lifelong commitment to protecting his country, his family, and their son’s future.
When his father died, Nazar was just one year and six months old. The boy has no memories of him, but he’s growing up hearing stories, looking at photographs, and learning that his dad was a Hero of Ukraine, a man defined by honor, responsibility, and duty.
Vitalii’s death upended Tetiana’s world. With him gone, she lost her pillar of support, her sense of security, and the happy life they had built. “Three years have passed since my loss. The pain has not gone away – it has become part of my life. I am still living with this loss and every day I am learning to live in a reality that I did not choose. The only thing that kept me from breaking down and forced me to move forward was our son. He became the force that keeps me going despite all the pain,” she says.
By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Tetiana online.
For reference: The Children of Heroes Charitable Foundation supports children who have lost one or both parents due to the war. The foundation provides tailored immediate aid, including humanitarian assistance, psychological and medical support, along with educational and developmental opportunities that continue until the children reach adulthood.
Sofiia Zalozna, now raising her six-year-old daughter Myroslava alone, first fled conflict in 2014. To escape russia’s aggression in the Donbas, she moved to Volnovakha in Donetsk oblast (the city that has been under russian occupation since March 2022).
In 2017, she joined the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. There, she met the man she would marry. Their daughter Myroslava was born in 2019.
The young family left the service in 2020 and relocated to Poland, seeking stability. In January 2022, they chose to return to Ukraine, with plans to eventually move to another country. But before they could, the full-scale invasion began.
They were staying with Sofiia’s parents in Kharkiv oblast when the shelling started. For weeks, they sheltered in basements, fearing russian troops would enter their village.
Sofiia eventually fled to Poland with their daughter. Her husband remained — and enlisted in Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
He was killed on July 31, 2022, in Velyki Prokhody, Kharkiv oblast, after detonating three anti-tank mines. He was 27.
“Time just stopped,” Sofiia recalls. “We were supposed to see each other soon. He dreamed of coming home on leave, holding our daughter… He never got the chance to be a real father, even though he loved Mira with all his heart.”
Sofiia Zalozna is available for interviews, in person in Irpin, Kyiv oblast, or online, by prior arrangement.
For reference: The Children of Heroes Charitable Foundation offers sustained support to children who have lost one or both parents due to the war. Its programs include urgent personalized assistance, humanitarian aid, medical and psychological services, and long-term educational opportunities until the children reach adulthood.
A free project management course in solar energy, launched by the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation, has brought together 50 women from across the country at a pivotal moment for Ukraine’s recovery.
The group includes women who endured life under occupation, those who lost their homes to the war, and others who have made a deliberate decision to change careers to take part in rebuilding the country. Their paths differ, but their experiences speak to resilience, regional renewal, and the determination to move forward despite profound challenges.
Participants say they are ready to share their personal stories, professional ambitions, and plans to contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction through green energy. They represent a wide range of professions, ages, and backgrounds, united by a common purpose: helping to rebuild Ukraine while advancing its transition to sustainable energy.
By prior arrangement, journalists will be able to speak with course participants in online interviews.
Tetiana Romaniuk experienced the beginning of the full-scale invasion alongside the Rapid Response Teams of the Red Cross Society in Ukraine. Her volunteer skills proved invaluable when evacuating people with limited mobility from parts of the Kyiv oblast and from frontline areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
In August 2022, Tetiana joined the volunteer Hospitallers Medical Battalion. She went to the front lines with five years of experience working in emergency situations. For over three years now, Tetiana has been working under extreme conditions, often at great risk to her own life.
Tetiana recalls one particular evacuation: her crew was rescuing the same soldier for the second time. The Hospitallers vehicle came under fire but only the car was damaged.
During breaks between evacuation missions, Tetiana embroidered traditional towels to distract herself from her experiences. It is also a way to help preserve Ukrainian culture, which is being destroyed by russian forces.
Journalists can speak with Tetiana Romaniuk online or offline by prior arrangement.
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.
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.
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.
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.
