Themes by tag: women

Before the full-scale invasion, Yana Zalevska had never considered military service. But after spending a month and a half in occupied Kherson, she decided to enlist. Even the fact that her husband — a Canadian citizen — was waiting for her abroad did not stop her.

Yana joined the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk, where she served as a military journalist and later as a combat medic. She subsequently completed training and continued her service as a drone operator. In 2024, she was wounded, underwent eight surgeries, and faced a long and difficult rehabilitation.

After recovering, Yana returned to service — this time with the 141st Separate Mechanized Brigade, which is currently holding the defense line in the Pokrovsk direction. Alongside combat drone missions, she trains new specialists for the all-women UAV operators platoon known as “Amazonky Banshi.”

Journalists may arrange an online interview with Yana Zalevska by prior agreement.

• casualties
• military
• women

HALO Ukraine invites the public to the opening of the photo exhibition “Women in Demining.” The event will begin on February 20 at one of the metro stations in Kyiv.

Twenty-nine photographs portray women in demining roles — a deminer, a diver-sapper, a drone operator. Each image tells a unique story. Twenty-two-year-old Diana Obzhelian studied Chinese at a Kyiv university and planned to become a translator. However, the full-scale invasion changed her plans: she switched to distance learning and joined HALO Ukraine as a deminer. Twenty-five-year-old Tetiana Mordach is the first and only female diver-sapper in Ukraine. Before the full-scale war, she worked as a rescue diver, and after the invasion began, she became a diver-sapper with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

The women featured in the exhibition will share their experiences, speak about their journeys, difficult decisions, fears, and motivations, as well as what gives them the strength to go to work every day.

At the opening, welcome remarks will be delivered by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine, Natalka Cmoc; HALO Ukraine Operations Manager Misha Iltsisin; and representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, and the Kyiv Metro.

Throughout the day, the HALO Ukraine team will also introduce visitors to the basic rules of mine safety. The training will take place in an interactive format.

Journalists are required to register for the event by 09:00 on February 20, 2026.

For reference: The project is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada and the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine. Other partners include Demine Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, MAG, FSD, UDA, NPA, and UNOPS.

HALO Ukraine is the Ukrainian program of The HALO Trust, the world’s largest international humanitarian mine clearance organization. The HALO Trust has been clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance in 30 countries over the past 38 years.

HALO Ukraine has been operating in eastern Ukraine since 2016. Its mission is to save lives, return land to communities, and help move the country forward on its path to recovery. Following the full-scale invasion by russia in February 2022, the team expanded its activities and now clears land in six regions — Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Kherson. Nearly 1,400 people work in the Ukrainian team, 30% of whom are women specialists.

• women
• Kyiv
• demining

Daria Borysenko is a servicemember with the callsign “Hilka” and the commander of an all-female crew within the “Typhoon” unmanned systems unit. She had been preparing for the large-scale war since 2021, attending various training sessions and military courses. On February 24, she reported to the military enlistment office and by the evening was already heading to defend Hostomel in the Kyiv region.

Over time, Daria became a strike drone pilot, and more recently she took command of an all-female strike UAV crew within the National Guard of Ukraine’s “Typhoon” unit. The group consists of four servicewomen who previously served in different crews.

An interview with Daria can be arranged online or offline by prior appointment and in coordination with the press officer.

For reference: The separate special-purpose unmanned systems unit “Typhoon” was established in 2024. The unit specializes in modern technologies, with its main areas of work focused on the use of drones and robotic systems.

• military
• women

Before the full-scale invasion, Nataliia lived with her family in Okhtyrka, in the Sumy region. She made custom furniture, while her husband worked as a mechanic at a service station. The couple has three children: a 26-year-old daughter and two sons aged 12 and 17.

On February 24, 2022, Okhtyrka came under constant russian shelling. The family managed to leave the city. Soon after, Nataliia’s mother’s house was hit directly.

Nataliia and her family evacuated to the Poltava region, where they lived for several months. After russian troops withdrew from the Sumy region, the family returned home. Her husband resumed work at the service station, and Nataliia also found a job. However, restoring their normal life proved impossible. At first, her husband repaired equipment for the military free of charge. Later, he himself joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was killed while defending the Motherland. His body was not recovered immediately.

For the family, the loss of a father and beloved husband was a heavy blow.In search of support, the family joined the programs of the charitable foundation “Children of Heroes” and also received psychological assistance. The sons, Yehor and Matvii, are now beneficiaries of the foundation. After her husband’s death, Nataliia and her children moved to the Volyn region.

By prior arrangement, journalists may speak with the family online.

• dead
• military
• women

Sewing Squad is a volunteer initiative that produces adaptive clothing for wounded defenders — both men and women — as well as civilians affected by russian aggression.

Since the autumn of 2022, the craftswomen of Sewing Squad have also been making orthopedic pillows — bone-shaped pillows, bolsters, and donut cushions. These are used at all stages of evacuation, from stabilization points to rehabilitation and prosthetics centers. Altogether, the team has sewn more than 20,000 pillows. A personal record belongs to a woman from Dnipro who independently sewed and filled more than 2,000 bone-shaped pillows. In addition, on February 13, a workshop on making bone-shaped pillows will take place in Poltava.

The initiative was founded by Maryna Palchenko and Kseniia Samoilych. On February 28, 2022, they brought their own sewing machines and overlockers to a regular office of a Dnipro-based IT company and launched Sewing Squad to produce balaclavas and thermal underwear, which were distributed free of charge to defenders (a record 498 balaclavas in one day). In May, they received a request from a hospital for “cyber clothing” — special adaptive garments with Velcro or snap fasteners that can be put on quickly, do not cause additional trauma, and do not require a wounded soldier to raise their arms or legs. Over time, an active and talented team of craftswomen and craftsmen from across Ukraine gathered around the initiative.

Today, the initiative unites more than 700 volunteers from various Ukrainian cities and other parts of the world, including Canada, Poland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and England. In total, more than 300,000 items of adaptive clothing have been produced, and over 35 clothing models have been developed.

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with the founders of the initiative in Dnipro, as well as with volunteers who sew the clothing in workshops, production facilities, or their own homes across Ukraine or abroad.

• volunteers
• women

In civilian life, Kateryna Sokolenko worked as a nurse in the village of Fedorivka in the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region. Long before the full-scale invasion, she became known for her vocal performances on the shows “X-Factor” and “Ukraine’s Got Talent.”

In 2016, she joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a senior nurse. Since then, Kateryna has been saving the lives of Ukrainian service members. She was already serving in the military when the full-scale invasion began. Currently, Kateryna holds the position of medical instructor in the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.

She believes that military service is her true calling. At the same time, she has put her singing career on hold, although she occasionally performs for her fellow soldiers.

An interview with Kateryna can be arranged online or offline in Kyiv on February 20–21 by prior appointment and in coordination with the press officer.

• doctors
• military
• women

Alina, known by the call sign “Jess,” is originally from Kremenchuk in the Poltava region. After the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, Alina and her mother began volunteering together, collecting and delivering items to internally displaced people. In 2024, the young woman realized that she wanted to join the military and chose the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Khartiia.”

During her training, Alina came across a video showing the operation of a ground robotic complex (GRC). She obtained the contact details of a platoon sergeant who works with this equipment, told him about herself, and was appointed as a GRC operator. Today, “Jess” deploys “robots” on missions: transporting supplies to hard-to-reach areas of the front line and evacuating the wounded. At times, she has even had to retrieve another damaged or stuck GRC from a previous mission using her own ground drone. Currently, “Jess” is the only woman in her unit.

It is possible to speak with “Jess” both online and offline, by prior arrangement and with the approval of the press officer.

• military
• women

Katrin is a trained fashion designer who worked in retail before the full-scale war. She started supporting the military as a volunteer. Over time, she realized that she wanted to join the Ukrainian army.

Planning to take on a combat role, Katrin chose to work with drones. After completing training with her battalion, she now works with UAVs in a reconnaissance unit.

As the enemy does not stop, the drone operator believes that everyone must contribute to the shared victory.

Katrin is available for interviews, both online and in person, by prior arrangement with the press officer.

• military
• women

Alina enlisted with the 13th Khartiia Brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard in 2023. Before the war upended everything, she was building an online presence, shooting and editing content for various social media platforms.

When mobilization became a reality, she took a deliberate, no-nonsense approach: researching what service actually entailed, weighing different roles, and deciding where her skills might fit best. She started out in the brigade’s communications unit, heading out to frontline positions as a photographer to document the fighters and their work.

Spending time embedded with the troops, listening to their stories and seeing the demands of the battlefield up close, she realized where she wanted to contribute next. She retrained and transitioned into operating unmanned aerial vehicles, a shift from capturing images on the ground to directing eyes in the sky.

She remains on active duty today and makes a point of mentoring and supporting other women who have already mobilized or are considering enlisting, sharing practical advice and encouragement drawn from her own path.

Those interested in speaking with Alina, whether for interviews or deeper conversations, can reach out online or arrange an in-person meeting, subject to prior coordination with the brigade’s press officer.

• military
• women

Saba Yamani was born in Saudi Arabia. Her father is Saudi, and her biological mother is Syrian. She first came to Ukraine at the age of three when her father married a Ukrainian woman, who became Saba’s real mother.

When Saba turned 16, her father wanted to take her back to Saudi Arabia to arrange a marriage for her. However, she defied him and refused to leave Ukraine.

In Kyiv, Saba was baptized in the Orthodox Church and came out as LGBTQ+. Currently, Saba does not have a Ukrainian passport; she only has an expired Saudi document. To resolve this issue, she applied to the State Migration Service of Ukraine at the start of the full-scale invasion. There, she was ordered to surrender the Ukrainian documents she had obtained and to leave the country within two weeks. Had she been deported to Saudi Arabia, Saba would have faced arrest and possible execution due to her tattoos, Christian faith, and LGBTQ+ identity. After appealing again to the SMS, Saba finally received a certificate confirming her application for protection.

Since the age of 15, Saba has helped her mother at a dental clinic. After high school, she attended medical university and started working part-time by the end of her first year. She currently works at a private dental clinic in Kyiv and plans to take the Ukrainian citizenship exam this May.

Saba Yamani is available for interviews online and in person in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• women
• Kyiv
• LGBT