Themes by tag: women

The “Forklift Operator for Women” course is a free vocational program under Reskilling Ukraine’s OnTrack initiative. 

The training course is designed to help women without specialized education master the profession of warehouse forklift driver. The course includes both theoretical online training and one week of hands-on practice.

Upon completing the practical training, participants will take an exam and receive a state-issued forklift operator license as well as an English-translated certificate.

Journalists may cover the training by prior arrangement.

• women
• Kyiv

When the full-scale invasion began, Annetka set her heart on serving in the Ukrainian military to fight the enemy. Being underage at the time, she was initially unable to enlist. Once she reached the required age, she signed a contract with the 13th Khartiia Operational Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, immediately expressing her desire to work with drones.

Annetka completed basic training, which covered the fundamentals of FPV drones operations, and was assigned to a technical unit. She now supports her fellow soldiers by assembling drones destined for the frontline. Additionally, she is actively learning to pilot FPV drones, intending to become a UAV operator soon.

Annetka is available for interviews both online and in person by prior arrangement and with approval from the press officer.

• military
• women

In 2019, Yevheniia Virlych became the head of Kavun.City, a Kherson-based media outlet covering local news. She developed the platform, secured grant funding, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, launched a project to debunk myths about the disease and vaccination.

After russian forces occupied Kherson, the publication refused to shut down. Kavun.City reported on everything happening in the city, from russian raids to bread distribution for residents.

The occupiers hunted for Yevheniia, forcing her into hiding. She frequently changed locations and even dyed her hair. She stayed in occupied Kherson for four months before finally deciding to escape. Once in Kyiv, Yevheniia immediately looked for ways to revive Kavun.City. The team began working on projects exposing local government operations and documenting russian war crimes.

On June 17, 2025, Yevheniia’s apartment was damaged during a russian missile attack on the capital. The blast wave shattered her windows and wounded her with glass shards. She suffered a mild concussion. Currently, Yevheniia and her family are staying with friends. Despite everything, Kavun.City continues to operate, with correspondents still reporting from Kherson.

You can connect with Yevheniia Virlych online or in person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• women
• Kherson
• Kyiv

Kateryna serves as a communications officer in the 13th Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. Before russia’s expanded war against Ukraine, she had no ties to the military.

She met her partner online, he was already in uniform at the time. After a few in-person meetings, it became clear they wanted to build a future together, regardless of the circumstances. Although Kateryna began talking about enlisting as a way to be closer to him, he initially opposed the idea. But she made up her mind: it was time to join the Defense Forces.

Her father also decided to enlist. Both passed the military qualification commission and chose to serve with the 13th Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard.

Kateryna completed the required training and took up her role as a communications specialist in one of the brigade’s units. Now, she often sees her beloved and allows herself to dream about the life they’ll share once the war is over.

Interviews with Kateryna can be arranged online or in person with prior coordination and approval from the brigade’s press officer.

• military
• women

Viktoriia Didovets, a charge nurse in the Intensive and Efferent Therapy Department for Acute Intoxication at the National Children’s Hospital Okhmatdyt, was injured during a missile strike on the hospital on July 8, 2024. As the attack unfolded, she was evacuating children on dialysis to a shelter when a missile struck the building.

By the time Viktoriia was rushed to the operating room, her pulse was barely detectable. She was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis, an open hip fracture, a ruptured liver, and injuries to her face and ear. For more than eight months, she has been undergoing treatment, determined to regain a full life.

By prior arrangement, Viktoriia is available for interviews in Kyiv or online.

Background: On July 8, 2024, a russian Kh-101 cruise missile struck Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital. At the time of the attack, 627 children were inside. The strike killed two people – a doctor and a patient’s relative – while injuring 35 others, including nine children. On July 10, a boy who had been in critical condition in intensive care at the time of the attack succumbed to his injuries in a Kyiv hospital.

• doctors
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

Anna Kosykh, a native of Dnipro now living in the Kyiv oblast, has been passionate about Petrykivka decorative painting since childhood. After earning a degree in education, she began teaching children this traditional Ukrainian art form.

When the full-scale invasion began, Anna chose to stay in Ukraine. Though her art school closed, leaving her unemployed, she soon found a new purpose: transforming spent ammunition casings into works of art that volunteers could sell at auctions.

Anna’s first “canvas” was a used Javelin missile tube, and one of her latest pieces was a transport tube from a Javelin missile. She paints anything sent to her from the frontlines. Anna auctions off the finished pieces and donates the proceeds to support the Ukrainian army.

Journalists can connect with Anna Kosykh online or meet her in Irpin by prior arrangement.

• culture
• women
• Kyiv

Kristina Avramenko was born and raised in Novotroitske, a village in the Kherson region. After finishing secondary school, she moved to Dnipro to continue her education before returning to Kherson to begin her medical internship. It was there, in Kherson, that she encountered the full-scale invasion.

In April 2022, Kristina managed to escape occupation and start anew in Brovary in Kyiv Oblast. There, she completed her internship and began practicing medicine. 

She says she’s not afraid to travel to frontline areas, joining other medical volunteers from the Frida Ukraine mission who operate mobile outpatient clinics and provide free medical care to civilians.

Kristina Avramenko is available for interviews both online and in person by prior arrangement.

• doctors
• women

Daria Morgen, a designer and illustrator based in Kharkiv, first noticed a growing number of people using prosthetic limbs on the streets back in 2014. This observation sparked an innovative idea: to create custom-fitted prosthetic limb covers using 3D printing technology.

Determined to bring her vision to life, Daria sought funding and was soon invited by the Norwegian Institute of Life Sciences to develop her project during a residency. In the summer of 2023, she printed prototypes there and explored the latest technologies and production methods. These prosthetic covers can be customized in a range of colors, patterns, and embellishments, tailored to the preferences of each individual. One of her earliest designs featured embroidery, serving as a distinctive artistic signature.

To raise awareness and reach those already adapting to prosthetic use, Daria connects with rehabilitation centers. She also aims to secure funding to provide these cosmetic covers free of charge to military veterans. Currently, all production of these prosthetic covers for war amputees is carried out on a purely volunteer basis.

Daria Morgen is available for interviews both online and in person in Kharkiv by appointment.

• casualties
• women

Before the full-scale invasion, Chaika had no military experience. In 2019, she married an officer of the 12th “Azov” National Guard Brigade. The couple split time between Mariupol and Zaporizhia. Just before the full-scale war began, Chaika was about to travel to Mariupol, but her husband forbade it. Her beloved, whose callsign was Buinyi, died defending the city.

A year and a half after this loss, she began dating another soldier. His death in 2024 marked the end of Chaika’s civilian life.

Joining the army became her way of fighting back against the enemy for all the pain she endured. She joined the “Stryzh” unit of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army and now serves as a drone operator. Although she dreams of starting a family and having children, she says that will only happen after victory.

Chaika is available for online/offline meetings in Zaporizhia by prior arrangement.

• military
• women

When russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Olha and her daughter Mariia had already taken very different paths, one in healthcare, the other in military training. Two years later, they serve together in the same unit of the National Guard.

Mariia, originally from Lysychansk in Ukraine’s Luhansk region, entered the National Guard Academy in Kharkiv in 2020. After the war began, her family evacuated to Dnipro. Her mother, Olha, who had worked for more than 20 years as a nurse in a maternity ward in Lysychansk, found a new job at a private clinic.

Soon after, Olha saw a recruitment ad calling for volunteers to join the Ukrainian military. Encouraged by her daughter, she applied to the 13th Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard. After graduating from the academy, Mariia joined the same unit. Today, Olha serves as a junior sergeant and nurse in a mobile dental clinic. Mariia is an officer in the brigade’s personnel department.

At home, the two women are supported by Mariia’s father, a retired State Emergency Service officer with more than 30 years of service. Her older brother serves in the Armed Forces as a combat medic.

For reference: russian forces occupied Lysychansk on July 3, 2022, after Ukrainian troops were ordered to withdraw. According to the Luhansk regional governor at the time, the retreat was conducted without casualties.

Interviews with Mariia and Olha are available online or in person by prior arrangement with a press officer.

• military
• women