Themes by tag: women

Angelina’s father served in the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. He was killed in action on June 13, 2023, near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

Currently, Angelina lives with her mother, Mariana, in Kropyvnytskyi and is a second-grade student. The girl has a passion for creative arts, attends a modeling agency, participates in photoshoots and runway shows.

Mariana works for a charitable foundation, where she provides daily assistance to other families affected by the war.

The family is available for in-person or online interviews by prior arrangement.

Reference: The “Children of Heroes” Charity Fund supports children who have lost one or both parents to the war. The fund offers immediate, personalized assistance, including humanitarian aid, psychological and medical support, as well as educational and development opportunities for children until they reach adulthood.

• children
• dead
• military
• women

Alla and Oleksiy began building their life together in 2021. As a serviceman in the “Azov” Regiment, Oleksiy was frequently deployed on missions.

On the night of February 24, 2022, the couple was scheduled to fly abroad for a vacation. However, just a day prior, the fighter was urgently deployed to Mariupol. It was there that Oleksiy witnessed the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and in May 2022, he and his fellow brothers-in-arms entered captivity following orders to leave the Azovstal steelworks.

Since then, Alla, who never had the chance to officially become Oleksiy’s wife, has been fighting for his freedom and return to Ukraine. For four years now, alongside Oleksiy’s mother, Oksana, she has been anxiously awaiting every prisoner exchange. In 2024, alongside other relatives of captured Azov fighters, Alla traveled to the Vatican, where she met with Pope Francis. The young woman continuously initiates meetings with the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the National Guard (NSU) command, and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Currently, Oleksiy remains illegally sentenced in russia to 29 years in a maximum-security prison. He faces fabricated charges of shooting a civilian woman in Mariupol and committing acts of terrorism.

Interviews with Alla can be arranged by prior agreement, either online or in person within the Kyiv region.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

Alyona is originally from the Kharkiv region. She now lives in the Poltava region and serves in the Ukrainian military. She is raising two children.

Her husband, Denys, was a lieutenant colonel and military pilot who served as deputy squadron commander and squadron navigator.

Denys completed more than 80 combat missions. He was awarded the Order for Courage, Third Class, as well as the Ministry of Defence distinction “Personalized Firearm”. He was killed on March 27, 2023, while carrying out a combat mission. His aircraft was shot down by russian forces over the Chernihiv region. The pilot attempted to steer the aircraft away from a populated area and did not have time to eject.

Subject to prior arrangement, the family is available for both in-person and online interviews.

• dead
• military
• women
• Poltava

HALO Ukraine has invited journalists to the opening of the “Women in Demining” photo exhibition, which will take place on June 3 at one of Kharkiv’s metro stations.

The exhibition features 29 portraits of women working in humanitarian demining, including deminers, underwater deminers and drone operators. Each photograph tells a unique story. Danger and risk, overcoming daily challenges, dedication and responsibility are shaping a new professional force of women in humanitarian demining.

During the presentation, female deminers will share their experiences, speak about their professional journeys, difficult decisions, fears and motivation, and explain what gives them the strength to continue their work every day.

Representatives of the Kharkiv city authorities, HALO Ukraine, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service and the National Police of Ukraine will also take part in the opening event.

Throughout the day, the HALO Ukraine team will introduce visitors to the basic rules of mine safety.

Media accreditation for the opening of the exhibition is mandatory until 2:00 p.m. on June 2, 2026.

Background: The project is supported by Global Affairs Canada and Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture.

HALO Ukraine is the Ukrainian programme of The HALO Trust, the world’s largest non-governmental non-profit organization specializing in humanitarian demining. The organization has been clearing mines and unexploded ordnance in 30 countries over the past 38 years.

HALO Ukraine has operated in eastern Ukraine since 2016. Its mission is to save lives and return land to communities. Following russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the team expanded its operations and now clears land in six regions: Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kherson. The Ukrainian team employs nearly 1,400 people, 30% of whom are women.

• women
• Kharkiv
• demining

Liudmyla Lysenko is a pastry chef who has lived in Bucha since 2016. She and her family were at home when russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After fighting began, the family evacuated to the Rivne region. But in April 2022, following the liberation of the Kyiv region from russian forces, they returned home. Lysenko recalls Bucha as devastated — without electricity, water or reliable communication.

In 2024, she decided to join Ukraine’s defense forces because she wanted to help the country. After completing training, Lysenko joined the “Bucha Witches,” a mobile air defense unit operating within the Bucha Volunteer Territorial Community Formation and tasked with intercepting enemy drones.

She now serves as commander of a mobile fire group. Although she is not an active-duty service member, after returning from combat duty she goes back to civilian life and bakes custom cakes to order.

Liudmyla Lysenko is available for interviews both online and in person in the Kyiv region by prior arrangement and coordination with the press officer.

• women
• Kyiv

Diana Berg is originally from Donetsk. In 2014, when russia first attacked Ukraine, she became one of the co-organizers of the “Donetsk Is Ukraine” rallies. Later, she was forced to leave her hometown due to threats to her life. Her new home became Mariupol, where in 2016 she founded the art platform TU!

Diana and her husband were in Mariupol when the full-scale invasion began. On March 4, 2022, they managed to evacuate and reach Lviv. Soon after, the couple began helping other Ukrainians escape territories occupied by russia. What started as a volunteer effort later grew into the NGO Vyvezemo (“We Will Evacuate”).

Since its launch, the organization has helped evacuate more than 5,000 people from occupied territories. Today, such missions have become significantly more difficult, but they continue.

Diana Berg is available for interviews online or in person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• occupation
• women
• Kyiv
• evacuation

Nataliia Shmahel has been practicing yoga for eight years and working as an instructor in Kherson for the past three. The youngest participant in her classes is 18, the oldest is 63.

Training sessions depend on the security situation in the city. When heavy shelling begins, the instructor notifies participants via chat that the session has been canceled. Last year, as Nataliia was heading to a class, a drone struck Kherson, forcing her to take cover under a tree.

She says that fear is something everyone experiences, but the classes help people cope by relieving tension and helping them clear their minds.

Interviews with Nataliia can be arranged in Kherson or online upon request.

Background: russian forces occupied Kherson at the beginning of the full-scale invasion on March 1, 2022. Ukrainian forces liberated the city on November 11, 2022. russian forces continue to shell the city regularly.

• culture
• occupation
• women
• Kherson

Nataliia Ilina, a resident of Bucha in the Kyiv region, has been organizing peaceful rallies in her city since early 2026 to remind society about those who have yet to return home, and to draw attention to the issue of the missing and prisoners of war. A total of eight such actions have already taken place.

One of them, titled “Light of Hope,” saw participants release lanterns into the sky, while an empty chair stood at the center of a circle — a reminder of the place still waiting for its owner.

Nataliia met her future husband, Mykola, on February 6, 1998, at Bucha City Hospital, where they had both come as patients. She says it was love at first sight. Exactly a year later, on February 6, 1999, they got married. On February 6, 2004, they were married in church, and on February 6, 2007, their daughter was born.

The full-scale invasion found the family in Bucha. On the third day, they managed to evacuate to Ivano-Frankivsk. (Bucha was under russian occupation from late February to March 31, 2022).

On March 6, 2022, Mykola volunteered to defend the country. He served in Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces and took part in combat near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. Later, he continued his service with the 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On February 3, 2025, he went missing near the village of Dachne in the Donetsk region.

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Nataliia Ilina in Bucha. Another peaceful rally in support of the missing and prisoners of war is scheduled to take place in the city on May 2.

• military
• women
• Kyiv

Mariia Volia was born and raised in Mariupol, a city in southern Ukraine that was destroyed and occupied by russian forces in the spring of 2022. She joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2015, deciding to defend the country after the first russian attacks on Mariupol. During the full-scale war, she served as a mortar squad leader and later as a platoon commander in a signal company.

Before the occupation of her hometown, she kept her sexual orientation private. However, after being wounded in Mariupol and later breaking out of the russian encirclement, Mariia came out to her comrades. After 11 years of service, she left the army due to health reasons and was assigned a third-degree disability status.

Mariia says she felt relief, as her resources to remain in the military had been exhausted. She is now gradually returning to civilian life and trying to find her place outside the army.

Mariia Volia can be contacted both online and in person by prior arrangement.

• military
• women
• LGBT

Ilona Khomitska previously taught piano at a music school in the Ternopil region. After the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, she completed truck driver training under the OnTrack programme of the Reskilling Ukraine project. She holds a Category CE licence, which allows her to drive vehicles weighing over 7.5 tonnes with a trailer.

The 42-year-old now works as a truck driver, operating a fuel tanker.

By prior arrangement, journalists may speak with Ilona in Ternopil or online.

Background: Reskilling Ukraine is a project of the Swedish non-profit organisation Beredskapslyftet. It was created to help Ukrainians rebuild Ukraine through education, retraining, and upskilling programmes. This is the first Beredskapslyftet project implemented in Ukraine.

• women
• Ternopil