Themes by tag: women

For the first time in its history, Ukraine’s annual Antarctic expedition will be headed by a woman.

Meteorologist Anzhelika Hanchuk has been appointed leader of the 31st Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition, scheduled for 2026–2027 at the Akademik Vernadsky research station.

Hanchuk is no stranger to the ice. She served as the station’s meteorologist during the 27th expedition in 2022–2023, where she conducted meteorological, oceanographic, glaciological, aerological, and related observations.

She brings more than ten years of experience in meteorology and climatology, along with a track record of leadership at home. Hanchuk started as a forecaster and eventually rose to head the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center under the State Emergency Service.

Today she produces real-time forecasts and models of dangerous weather and hydrological events to support emergency responders, work that frequently demands quick decisions under intense pressure, a skill set considered especially valuable for the remote and unforgiving conditions of Antarctica.

Since 2018, 13 women have joined Ukraine’s annual expeditions and another 11 have participated in shorter seasonal deployments.

Online interviews with Hanchuk are available to journalists by prior arrangement.

• women

Sofiia Pidvalna has been fascinated by martial arts since childhood. At age 13, she tried kickboxing and later pursued professional sports, competing for the Ukrainian national team.

At 19, Sofiia joined the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, where she began training in practical shooting. She eventually became a judge in the discipline.

On February 24, 2022, the first day of russia’s full-scale invasion, her brother, Vladyslav, was killed while defending the Luhansk region.

For Sofiia, this became a sign to fight for her country as her brother had done. During her service, she noticed that many women joining the army lacked sufficient prior training. She decided to leave active duty to focus on training enlistees.

Sofiia now teaches subjects including firearms and physical training. In the future, she plans to organize emergency driving courses for women.

Sofia Pidvalna is available for interviews, both online and in person in Lutsk, by prior arrangement.

• military
• women
• Lutsk

Before the russian aggression began, Natalia Lishchyshyna lived in the Luhansk region. When russia first attacked Ukraine in 2014, she began volunteering and providing support to the military.

In 2021, Natalia signed a contract with the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade. Her husband supported this decision. She met the beginning of the full-scale invasion in the Mykolaiv region, where her unit was based.

In 2024, Natalia became seriously ill and was diagnosed with Mintz’s disease, which involves the formation of intraductal papillomas in the mammary glands.

Natalia underwent three surgeries, including a complete bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts). She is the only female veteran in Ukraine who has succeeded in proving that her condition was caused by the prolonged wearing of body armor.

Natalia has begun working as an expert supporting war veterans and demobilized military personnel. She is also studying in veteran programs, including the Tribe Project by Amnesty International Ukraine. She is also trying to draw the authorities’ attention to the problem of injuries sustained by women in military service.

Natalia Lishchyshyna is available for interviews, both online and in person in the Vinnytsia region, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• women
• Vinnytsia

Before the full-scale invasion, Iryna Koval worked with metal constructions for the building industry. On February 24, 2022, however, her business had to pivot to support the military.

The first product developed by Iryna’s team was the Brammer tactical evacuation cart, which is designed to transport an adult over long distances. Weighing 25 kilograms with a load capacity of 150 kilograms, the cart allows one person to independently evacuate a wounded comrade. The team also developed lightweight drag stretchers for use in areas inaccessible to vehicles.

Their latest innovation is tactical trailers for ATVs (quad bikes), which can evacuate three wounded soldiers simultaneously. This work was recognized with the “Created by Women” award, which supports women entrepreneurs during the war.

Since starting this project, Iryna’s company has produced over 8,500 evacuation devices. With their help, soldiers on the front lines are saving the lives of their comrades.

Iryna Koval is available for interviews online and in person in Odesa by prior arrangement.

• volunteers
• women
• Odesa

Khrystyna Drahomaretska, a 28-year-old trained architect, has stepped away from her profession to rescue animals amid Ukraine’s war, where she works as a stray animal catcher and evacuates pets from active combat areas.

She carries on despite constant danger from enemy shelling. In Toretsk in the Donetsk region, three russian guided aerial bombs detonated near her. In Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, she sustained shrapnel wounds while rescuing animals as russian forces hammered the area with mortar fire.

Originally focused on sterilization missions, Khrystyna has spent the past year leading evacuation efforts, pulling abandoned and stray animals out of frontline zones and finding them foster or permanent homes.

She also founded a shelter in the Odesa region, where many of the evacuated animals are taken for treatment, socialization, and rehoming, about 70 percent eventually find adoptive families abroad. The facility currently houses around 250 dogs.

Journalists interested in learning more about her work or arranging an interview can reach out to speak with her online or in person in Odesa, Kyiv, or Kharkiv, by appointment.

For reference: Khrystyna Drahomaretska conducts her rescue operations in partnership with the 12 Vartovykh Charitable Foundation and Animal Rescue Kharkiv. She is also part of the UAnimals rescue mission.

• animals
• casualties
• women
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv
• Odesa
• evacuation

Zoia Kovalets was in Vysokopillia, Kherson oblast, when the full-scale invasion began. When russian soldiers occupied her home, she started sharing information about enemy movements with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. She was betrayed to the occupiers by her neighbor. Zoia hid with her fellow villagers for two months, living in basements to avoid capture by the russians. She eventually managed to escape the occupation.

Once in Ukrainian-controlled territory, Zoia began working immediately as a nurse in a hospital and later joined the Ukrainian army. She currently serves as an operating room nurse in the 47th Mechanized Brigade “Magura”.

Zoia remembers everything she endured under occupation and seeks revenge against the enemy.

Zoia Kovalets is available for interviews online and in person by prior arrangement with the press officer.

• doctors
• military
• women

When russia launched its full-scale invasion, the servicewoman known by the call sign Minion was with her parents in the Kharkiv oblast. Their village, Mali Prokhody, was quickly occupied. For six months, she lived under russian rule, cut off from the outside world, before she and her parents managed to escape to Germany.

Upon turning 18, Minion chose to return to Ukraine and join the fight. Her first application at a Territorial Recruitment Center was rejected. Undeterred, she tried again a year later, succeeded in getting a brigade assignment, and completed her training.

Now, Minion has served for a year in the 1st Separate Medical Battalion as a drone operator. Looking ahead, she dreams of pursuing higher education to become a veterinarian.

Minion is available for online interviews by prior arrangement with her unit’s press officer.

• military
• women

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, 25-year-old Iryna Masna was a student at the Zhytomyr College of Culture and Arts. In 2021, she moved to Poland. When the war escalated in February 2022, she began volunteering at a support center for Ukrainian refugees there.

After returning to Ukraine, she enrolled at the Zhytomyr Medical Institute to train as a nurse.

In March 2024, Iryna Masna, operating under the call sign “Prymara” (Ukrainian for “ghost”), joined the 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov.” Since October 2025, she has served with the 20th Liubart Operational Brigade of the 1st Azov Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. 

Her first truly intense experience came in the summer of 2024 in the Serebryanskyi Forest. While working alone at a casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) point, a group of combat engineers detonated a mine at the casualty transfer site, leaving several men badly wounded. “Prymara” and another medic divided the patients: he took the less severely injured, while she handled the more critical cases. Inside the moving evacuation vehicle, she struggled to insert catheters and control bleeding.

One soldier, his leg badly torn, insisted she first give pain relief to his comrade suffering from severe burns. She followed his request, and later second-guessed herself intensely. “I made a terrible mistake then,” she said. “I’m thankful both are alive, but I realized the man with the thigh wound needed urgent blood control, and I didn’t properly assess whether he was in shock.” The episode became a defining lesson; she has never again allowed herself to become rattled in high-pressure moments.

Across her service, Iryna has worked as a medic at triage points, a CASEVAC and MEDEVAC evacuation specialist, and a tactical medicine instructor for fellow troops.

Not every life she helps save results in a message of thanks. Not all the wounded track her down later through messengers or mutual contacts. Yet every note that does arrive serves as a quiet confirmation that she is exactly where she is meant to be.

Today, “Prymara” continues serving as both a frontline medic and an instructor. For her dedication to saving lives, Iryna Masna has been awarded the “For Saving Lives” medal.

Journalists interested in interviewing Iryna Masna can arrange online or in-person interviews through the brigade’s press service.

• doctors
• military
• women

Maryna Chernyshova is originally from Mariupol. She and her family were in their hometown when the full-scale invasion began. For over a month, Maryna and her loved ones endured life in the city under russian attacks, spending most of their time hiding from enemy shelling in a basement. Living with them was Maryna’s cat, Marcy. The cat provided emotional support for the entire family, helping them stay calm during that terrible time.

When they finally managed to evacuate from Mariupol, Marcy left with them. The family made their way to the Ternopil oblast, where Maryna began contemplating the creation of an anti-stress space. After noticing the many stray cats in Ternopil, she decided to open a cat café.

Funded by her own savings and a grant from the National Network for the Development of Local Philanthropy, the café now houses rescued cats — some are adopted, others live there permanently. It also hosts free events for people affected by the war. The café was recently awarded the “People’s Favorite Space” distinction.

Maryna Chernyshova is available for interviews online or in person, in Ternopil, by prior arrangement.

• animals
• casualties
• occupation
• women
• Mariupol
• Ternopil

Tetiana is the mother of four-year-old Nazar. Before russia’s full-scale invasion, she and her husband enjoyed an ordinary family life in Ukraine – a home, plans for the future, and dreams they shared.

Her husband, Vitalii, was a career officer, a captain in Ukraine’s Armed Forces. After graduating from the military academy, he dove straight into service. For him, it wasn’t just a job; it was a deliberate calling, a lifelong commitment to protecting his country, his family, and their son’s future.

When his father died, Nazar was just one year and six months old. The boy has no memories of him, but he’s growing up hearing stories, looking at photographs, and learning that his dad was a Hero of Ukraine, a man defined by honor, responsibility, and duty.

Vitalii’s death upended Tetiana’s world. With him gone, she lost her pillar of support, her sense of security, and the happy life they had built. “Three years have passed since my loss. The pain has not gone away – it has become part of my life. I am still living with this loss and every day I am learning to live in a reality that I did not choose. The only thing that kept me from breaking down and forced me to move forward was our son. He became the force that keeps me going despite all the pain,” she says.

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Tetiana online.

For reference: The Children of Heroes Charitable Foundation supports children who have lost one or both parents due to the war. The foundation provides tailored immediate aid, including humanitarian assistance, psychological and medical support, along with educational and developmental opportunities that continue until the children reach adulthood.

• dead
• military
• women