Themes by tag: women

Larysa is a graduate in law originally from Kherson. She learned about the full-scale invasion of Russia when traveling in Mexico. She immediately started looking for ways to return home. Larysa managed to get to Ukraine just in the days of the Russian occupation of Kherson. In May 2022, she traveled to the Russian-held city and took her friends, and those willing to leave for the territory controlled by Ukraine.

In the Kyiv region, Larysa joined the volunteer movement and dismantled the rubble of buildings destroyed by the war. She lived with the idea of a similar reconstruction project to be implemented in her hometown. So, after Ukraine regained control of Kherson on November 11, 2022, Larysa returned home and became the coordinator of the Dobrobat volunteer movement in the region. Larysa and her team cleared rubble and rebuilt homes. Local volunteers call Larysa “mom” for her dedication and care for people.

Journalists are welcome to talk to Larysa both offline and online.

For reference: November 11, 2023, marks the one-year anniversary of retaking Kherson. Also, during last year’s counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated some districts of the Kherson region and part of the Mykolaiv region on the right bank of the Dnipro River.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• women
• Kherson

Nadiia is a teacher of the art of making coffee. The woman and her family had moved from Mykolaiv to Kherson, a city in the south of Ukraine that was under russian occupation for more than half a year. This had happened two months before the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion. Nadiia wanted to open a barista school in the city. The official opening was scheduled for February 26, 2022, but the war changed everything.

The woman found herself under occupation, worked at a friend’s coffee shop, and volunteered by cooking food. When threats from the occupiers poured in, she decided to leave. She had to overcome 70 roadblocks. From Zaporizhia, she went to Kyiv, where she started all over again. On August 7, 2023, precisely on the anniversary of her escaping the occupation, she was able to open a coffee shop near Kyiv with the help of a state grant. Nadiia also helped a displaced woman from Zaporizhia region by employing her as a barista in her coffee shop.

Together with her close circle, Nadiia created the “Welcome to Ukraine” charity foundation in Mykolaiv, which helps the military and civilians.

For reference: November 11, 2023 marks the anniversary of the liberation of Kherson from the occupiers. Last year’s counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the South of Ukraine also liberated some of the districts of Kherson region and a part of Mykolaiv region on the right bank of the Dnipro. 

• occupation
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

A soldier assigned the call sign ‘Amazon’ woman warrior has dreamed of the army since childhood. She knew she would serve and defend her country. She couldn’t enter a higher education for the military, so she got into law school and then mobilized. When Amazon was still a private soldier, she was entrusted with the control of a Soviet self-propelled artillery system. Later, the girl got admitted to a military university on the second try and eventually earned an officer’s degree. At the same time, Amazon was appointed as the US-made M777 gun crew commander. The girl acquired the skills to manage the crew in a few days, she can load the gun and fire artillery pieces targeting the enemy on her own. The girl wanted her army nickname to be ‘Daisy’, but her commander assigned the name ‘Amazon’. 

For reference: The soldier is on the front line, ready to talk to journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• military
• women

Nataliia Shevchuk and her son went to the military enlistment office to join the Ukrainian Defense Forces on February 25, 2022, on her birthday. Nataliia used to be a film producer as a civilian employee, so she had many drone pilots as colleagues. In the first days of the invasion, she called on them to create an aerial reconnaissance unit together. At first, Nataliia’s unit comprised only 8 pilots, but later it numbered 28. The soldier says that the group is a big family, where she is called “Mom.” Nataliia’s son also served as a military intelligence officer but in a different unit. The defender dreams of expelling the enemy from Ukrainian territory and starting to rebuild the country after the full-blown war. 

For reference: Nataliia Shevchuk is on the front line, ready to talk to journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• military
• women

Valentyna Tkach is a third-generation weaver. Her mother was taught this craft by her grandfather, and her mother taught Valentyna herself.

When the full-blown began, Valentyna’s son was mobilized. Later, he asked his mother to raise money for a military vehicle. The woman chose her best products and started selling them on social media. The car was purchased very quickly. Valentyna decided that her carpets could help buy necessary things for Ukrainian defenders. So she continued to put her work up for sale and donate the proceeds to the army. Now the weaver is working on raising money for a thermal imaging drone.

• culture
• military
• volunteers
• women

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Olena Yuzvak has been under occupation. Despite the Russians taking over Hostomel, the doctor stayed and continued to work and help people. Olena distributed medicine and took care of the wounded until the occupiers took her prisoner. The doctor was imprisoned for a day, and 10 days later, the Ukrainian forces retake control of Hostomel. Olena immediately went back to work and tackled to restore the medical facilities she managed. One of them was located in the village of Moshchun in the Kyiv Oblast and was destroyed by a direct shell hit. Thanks to the support of international funds, Olena managed to build a new Health Center and turn it to be an energy-independent Point of Invincibility. Now the doctor continues to work toward the restoration of medical facilities. 

• doctors
• occupation
• prisoners
• reconstruction
• women
• Kyiv

Iryna joined the Maidan self-defense and patrolled the streets of Kyiv during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. Later, she started going to the East of Ukraine to deliver equipment to Ukrainian defenders. Iryna underwent training and became the second in command of a sniper team at a time. However, she did not join the army back then, and a few years later she left for abroad. She met the all-out invasion while in Bali. At the time, she did not have a passport, as she had handed it to the embassy for reissue. However, she decided that she had to return to her homeland by any means necessary. She was offered deportation and agreed. On the third day of the full-blown war, she was already in Ukraine and joined the 72nd p Black Cossacks Brigade as a sniper.

Now Iryna is on the front line and is ready to talk to the media with command prior approval.

• military
• women

Yana Biletska engaged in volunteer work in hospices back in 2011, long before the full-blown war began. Later, she founded the NGO Healthy Nation – Future of Ukraine. When the great war broke out, Yana never had any intention of leaving Kharkiv. She knew she could be useful in the city. Together with a team of like-minded people, Yana founded the Hub Vokzal volunteer association, which began delivering humanitarian aid to the residents of Slobozhanshchyna. During the year and a half of the enemy invasion, the association took care of 22 communities in the Kharkiv region, each numbering thousands of people, both locals and IDPs.

• volunteers
• women

Vita Harasymchuk, 31, is an accountant by profession. She is the wife of a serviceman who made his dream come true and opened a gym in Lviv region. Vita’s husband is a military man who took part in the anti-terrorist operation. And since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion, he has been protecting Ukraine in the hottest spots. The woman was able to open a gym at the end of last year.

Among other things, yoga, tabata, fitness, and modern dance classes are held in the gym. Classes with a trainer, a rehabilitator and massage services are also available there. Vita is gradually expanding her own business, because the plans are to make the gym a place for the rehabilitation of Ukrainian servicemen. And also — to get teenagers involved in sports.

• military
• women
• Lviv

An apartment in the city center and her own successful business — pet grooming salons. Yevheniia Zhyhulina had had all of it in Donetsk, until russia first attacked Ukraine in 2014. Then Yevheniia and her family were forced to leave their hometown. Odesa became a second home for Yevheniia’s family. When the full-scale invasion began, Yevheniia and her husband decided that they would not run away again. And despite the bug war, the woman began to think about starting her own business again. With the help of a state grant, in February 2023, the doors of Yevheniia Zhyhulina’s grooming salon opened in Odesa. The entrepreneur dreams that she will be able to create a whole network of salons for dogs throughout Ukraine, in particular, in Donetsk, Ukraine.

• animals
• casualties
• women
• Odesa