Themes by tag: women

Years ago, Ellie Balika first visited Ukraine as a tourist. The Brit fell in love with the country’s culture, cuisine, and people — so deeply that she eventually relocated permanently.

Later, in Norway, Ellie met a Ukrainian who became her husband. The couple settled in the Odesa oblast. Over seven years of marriage, they had three children, who understand English, Ukrainian, and russian, while Ellie and her husband communicate in Norwegian.

Ellie created a blog about Ukraine, initially for her friends, which later evolved into a full-fledged project for a wider audience.

You can contact Ellie Balika either online or offline in the Odesa oblast by prior agreement.

• culture
• women
• Odesa

Iron Women is a no-cost retraining initiative designed to help women acquire the skills needed to work as excavator operators and front-end loader drivers.

The program combines theoretical and practical instruction and culminates in official certification for Level 5 excavator operators and Level 4 front-end loader drivers. The curriculum includes three weeks of online theoretical classes, followed by three weeks of hands-on training in the Kyiv region.

Tuition, lodging, and meals are fully covered by the Reskilling Ukraine project and ETS Group.

Graduates will be qualified to work as assistant excavator operators or assistant forklift drivers at closed industrial sites, though the certification does not permit operating equipment on public roads.

By prior arrangement, media representatives are welcome to cover the training, which will take place from August 11 through September 19.

• women
• Kyiv

Oleksandra Mazur, head of the Olenivka Community NGO, has spent more than two years searching for the truth about her loved one held in russian captivity. Since May 2022, she has been fighting to keep his memory, and the memory of others like him, alive.

Her partner, Azov Regiment combat engineer Yaroslav Otrok, was among the Ukrainian defenders captured at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Following orders from his commanders, he and his fellow soldiers surrendered and were taken to a makeshift detention center in the occupied town of Olenivka, Donetsk region.

On July 29, 2022, Yaroslav was killed in a blast that tore through the prison. Ukrainian authorities have described the attack as a terrorist act, accusing russian forces of deliberately targeting prisoners of war.

In the days that followed, Oleksandra saw Yaroslav’s name on a list of the wounded. But hope soon gave way to devastating news. In September, a witness who survived the explosion told her Yaroslav’s injuries had been fatal. A month later, the Azov Patronage Service confirmed he was among the dead. His body had been returned by russia.

Since then, Oleksandra has dedicated herself to the Olenivka Community NGO, supporting other families of POWs and calling attention to the crimes committed in Olenivka. Her efforts helped pave the way for official recognition: on July 22, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution establishing July 28 as the Day of Remembrance for Ukrainian Defenders who were executed, tortured, or died in captivity.

Mazur remains committed to telling these stories. She is available for interviews online or in person, by prior arrangement, in Kamianets-Podilskyi or Kyiv.

• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Khmelnytskyi
• Kyiv

Anastasiia Bolotova met Ivan Bolotov in 2014. What began as a love story would, a decade later, become a story of loss, remembrance.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion, the couple was living in Mykolaiv. As the war escalated, Ivan moved Anastasiia to his parents’ home in Kyiv for safety, while he remained behind to defend the capital as a military pilot.

On February 2, 2025, Captain Ivan Bolotov was killed in action while carrying out a combat mission. He was just 24 years old. A fighter pilot in Ukraine’s Air Force, Ivan died in the skies he had sworn to protect.

For Anastasiia, life was split into a before and after. The most precious gift he left her, she says, is their son.

In July, Anastasiia opened a coffee shop in Kyiv in Ivan’s memory. She named it Krylati (“The Winged”), paying homage to the life and legacy of her beloved. With the help of Ivan’s friends and family, she designed the space with care: the walls are painted in his favorite color, a mural anchors the room as its artistic heart, and his favorite music drifts softly through the café. Photos of fallen pilots, including Ivan, hang on the walls as a quiet reminder of the cost of war.

Anastasiia Bolotova is available for interviews, both online and in person in Kyiv, by appointment.

• dead
• military
• women
• Kyiv

Before the war, Olena worked as a fitness coach — a job that was both her passion and calling. Today, she serves as a tactical medicine instructor in the 114th Territorial Defense Brigade, under the callsign “Fury”.

From the first day of the full-scale invasion, Olena tried to enlist at the military recruitment office in her hometown of Fastiv, Kyiv oblast. Yet, she was turned away three times. Undeterred, she held onto her conviction: “If you keep knocking, the door will open.” And it did. She first joined the Territorial Defense Brigade as a combat medic, later rising to become an instructor training others in life-saving tactics.

Olena dreams of returning to the gym after the war — where her friends, colleagues, and students await her. At home, her son and parents are her anchor.

To arrange an interview with Olena, contact the brigade’s press officer in advance.

• military
• women

Olena Dovbenko met her future husband, Oleksandr, when she was just 18. Their love endured distance when Olena left for work in Poland, sustaining a long-distance relationship for a year and a half.

When the full-scale invasion began, Olena returned to Ukraine. After just a few more dates, Oleksandr proposed. In April 2023, as he turned 25, he prepared to enlist as a combat engineer — while Olena discovered she was pregnant. Oleksandr served on the front lines in the Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia sectors. But on July 4, 2023, tragedy struck: a shrapnel fragment hit him in the head as he evacuated his brothers-in-arms.

Now, Olena is raising their daughter, whom she named in honor of her fallen husband. She runs a small business and admits she only recently allowed herself to grieve — before, she feared her sorrow would harm her little girl.

You can speak with Olena Dovbenko online or in-person in Ternopil oblast, by prior arrangement.

• dead
• military
• women
• Ternopil

At just 22 years old, a young woman serving under the call sign “Zhuika,” which means “Bubblegum” in Ukrainian, is already an aerial reconnaissance officer with Ukraine’s National Guard.

Since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, Zhuika knew she wanted to serve. She spent months preparing, weighing her options, and choosing both the unit and position that felt right.

In November 2024, she joined the aerial reconnaissance unit of the 13th Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard. She laughs that part of her motivation came from her admiration for Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan, who also serves in the same unit. But there was something else that drew her in: the brigade was among the first in Ukraine to actively recruit women into its ranks. That mattered to her.

Looking ahead, Zhuika hopes to pursue combat engineering, with a particular interest in explosive ordnance disposal. After her service, she dreams of seeing the world.

Interviews with Zhuika, either online or in person, are possible with prior approval from the brigade’s press officer.

• military
• women

For over three years, Oleksandra waited for her father, a soldier held in russian captivity. All that time, the young woman searched for any scraps of information — reaching out to relatives of freed POWs, making posts on social media — but mostly, she was met with silence.

On June 19, 2025, Oleksandra received the news she had longed for: her father had been freed from captivity and returned to Ukraine. After that, she decided to support others still searching for their loved ones and waiting for prisoner exchanges. With her father’s permission, she made a social media post asking people to send her photos of their relatives in captivity. She shows these pictures to her father, and he tries to recall whether he saw these people while imprisoned.

Oleksandra receives hundreds of messages with photos. The freed defender often asks for the person’s date of birth, as in captivity, everyone begins to look alike. In just two weeks, Oleksandra’s father managed to recognize three people. Of course, the information may not always be accurate.

Oleksandra helps others without expecting anything in return because she understands the pain of waiting for a loved one to return from captivity.

You can speak with Oleksandra online or in person in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• military
• prisoners
• women
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale invasion began, Olena Ryzh worked in the restaurant business for over 20 years. She climbed her way up from being a waitress to a manager and also worked as a service and communications trainer.

When the full-scale war broke out, Olena joined the DonorUA team: she helped evacuate people from Irpin and delivered humanitarian aid to those who stayed behind. After the region was liberated, she returned to her normal life but didn’t feel like she was in the right place. The thought of trying herself in the military wouldn’t leave her.

Soon after, she joined the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Mahura”. Olena took on the role of an assault soldier and, after training, was sent to the front lines. She was wounded during combat but returned to service after treatment.

Olena has since transferred to the 412th Separate Nemesis Regiment, where she now serves as a senior combat medic. She also runs a blog where she offers advice on effective communication between civilians and military personnel.

You can talk to Olena Ryzh online or offline in the East, by prior arrangement.

• military
• women

Svitlana Sysoieva, a mother of two Ukrainian defenders from the Kharkiv region. Her eldest son, Serhii, was a seasoned fighter and a devoted patriot. At just 17, he joined the Revolution of Dignity, later fought in the Anti-Terrorist Operation/Joint Forces Operations (ATO/JFO), and from the early days of russia’s full-scale invasion, served in Ukraine’s Special Forces, often deployed to the front line’s most dangerous hotspots.

In the summer of 2022, Serhii was killed during a combat mission. Svitlana says he wasn’t supposed to be on that operation, but when the unit lacked a medic, he volunteered to go with his fellow soldiers. An enemy bullet struck him in the head. Although he was evacuated, doctors couldn’t save him. Serhii was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage,” III degree.

Svitlana’s younger son, Maksym, signed a military contract in 2021. After Serhii’s death, he stayed on the front lines. In December 2022, he was seriously wounded, losing part of his leg, and was later discharged from service.

In the summer of 2023, Svitlana channeled her pain into purpose and launched a women’s clothing brand, one that also creates adaptive garments tailored to the needs of wounded veterans. Today, Maksym works alongside his mother, helping grow the business.

Svitlana is available for interviews both online and in person in the Kharkiv region, by appointment.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• women
• Kharkiv