Themes by tag: women

Dr. Serhii Baksheiev is a gynecologist, obstetrician, reproductive specialist, general practitioner, and a medical volunteer with a PhD in medicine. Since the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has been treating women and assisting with deliveries, all while under fire.

In late 2022, Baksheiev launched his own initiative, which he named the ‘Feminine Shuttle’. This specialized mobile unit is designed for gynecological exams in de-occupied and frontline regions. The vehicle is outfitted with a gynecological chair and all the necessary equipment for thorough examinations.

In a challenging turn of events, Baksheiev was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy in September 2024. Despite his health battle, he has continued his mission to help those in need. Even while recovering from surgery, he joined FRIDA Ukraine’s volunteer medics on a mission to the Sumy region.

Journalists wishing to speak with Dr. Baksheiev can arrange interviews with him either in Kyiv or during his field missions.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission focused on providing high-quality care to war-affected civilians.

• casualties
• doctors
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale invasion, Maryna Sadykova, the founder of the “Repower” charitable foundation, worked in event management. After 24 February, she and her team shifted their focus to supporting Ukrainian soldiers. However, the intense volunteer work took a toll on her mental health, leading to burnout and anxiety. In search of recovery, she traveled to the Carpathian Mountains, an experience that inspired her to create a psychological support program. Initially, the project aimed to help fellow military volunteers, but due to limited funding, the team decided to focus on combat medics — those on the front lines saving soldiers’ lives.

This led to the creation of the “Repower” project in Kyiv, which provides mental health recovery programs for Ukrainian combat medics. The organization has developed a sustainable psychological rehabilitation program — a 10-day retreat in Sweden, Denmark and Spain. Ukrainian psychologists accompany the medics on each trip. The program includes therapeutic exercises, individual counseling, group sessions, art therapy and music therapy. To date, “Repower” has organized 12 trips for 847 participants.

Following the retreat, journalists will have the opportunity to interview Maryna Sadykova and program participants, either online or in person, by prior arrangement.

• doctors
• psychological support
• volunteers
• women

“Auto Mechanic” is a free training course for women within the OnTrack program of the Reskilling Ukraine project.

The course is designed to train future specialists in vehicle maintenance and repair. The curriculum includes basic knowledge about the structure, working principles and technical characteristics of modern automobiles.

The course will begin in Kyiv on April 7, with 15 women participating.

Background: Reskilling Ukraine is a project of the Swedish non-profit organization Beredskapslyftet, implemented in Ukraine. It focuses on free training programs for women and veterans to help them start careers in new fields.

• women
• Kyiv

For more than 32 years, Valentyna Hantseva has worked at the library in the village of Soldatske, Sumy Oblast. Just months before russia’s full-scale invasion, the library underwent a modern renovation and received new equipment. But when a russian airstrike hit the village center during the occupation, the library building was left in ruins. Only the roof and walls remained intact, while the blast wave devastated the interior.

Despite the occupation and the constant threat of russian aircraft overhead, Valentyna and her husband began salvaging books, hiding them in grain sacks to keep them safe. In total, she managed to rescue more than 1,000 volumes.

In April 2022, Ukrainian forces liberated the village. With support from a benefactor in Germany, the library was restored, and by the fall of 2022, Valentyna was able to reopen its doors to readers.

For reference: By April 11, 2022, then-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that Ukraine had fully regained control of its state border in the Sumy region.

• culture
• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• women
• Sumy

Olena Herhel’s beloved Vasyl was Belarusian. Back home, he fought against the regime of self-proclaimed President Aleksandr Lukashenko—a struggle that led to his imprisonment. In 2015, he joined Ukraine’s fight, believing that by defending Ukraine, he was also taking a step toward freeing his own country.

In the summer of 2022, Olena received word that Vasyl was missing. But she says she knows for certain that he is dead—his comrades witnessed his death in battle. Later, she found footage on an enemy propaganda channel that showed Vasyl’s body, along with the chevron and belt she had given him.

Now raising three children alone, Olena made the decision to mobilize when her eldest son came of age. She was offered a role in the patronage service of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade Kholodnyi Yar, where she now leads efforts to locate missing soldiers. Having lived through the anguish of uncertainty, she says she deeply understands what these families endure—and she is committed to doing everything she can to support those who receive the dreaded news that a loved one is missing.

Olena Herhel is available for interviews both online and in person by appointment.

• military
• women

Larysa Zahryva has devoted 25 years to education. She worked as a teacher, and in 2022 she became the head of the Center for the Provision of Social Services in Chernihiv Oblast. When the full-scale war broke out, the village of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske, where Larysa lived and worked, was under occupation. For 37 days, she continued to go to work and take care of the elderly people who remained in the village. Larysa hid documents from the russians and was shot at five times. The occupiers came to her house in the middle of the night and interrogated Larysa’s husband.

After Ukraine retook Mykhailo-Kotsiubynskyi from russian occupation, Larysa successfully founded the University of the Third Age (U3A) with support from the United Nations Development Program. Today, several areas of study are already available for lifelong learners, including the Healthy Lifestyles Program, the Philosophy Program, and the Arts and Crafts Program Larysa also created a mobile social assistance project: A car with volunteers who help residents with household chores runs around Chernihiv. The University has also recently opened a resilience space where women, children, IDPs, and war victims can work individually with a psychologist or attend support groups.

For reference: By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces had completely liberated Chernihiv Oblast.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• women
• Chernihiv

With the start of the full-scale invasion, Anna Paikina left Odesa for abroad, fearing the possibility of enemy occupation. While in Spain, she switched from russian to Ukrainian and decided to return home in the spring of 2023. Anna wanted to promote Ukrainian culture in her hometown of Odesa.

First, she gathered like-minded people on social media who wanted to participate in traditional Ukrainian caroling. She then arranged with local restaurants and cafes to perform traditional Ukrainian songs.

This initiative soon grew into the “Legit” Ethnic Union. Many of its members are wives of soldiers waiting for their husbands to return from the front. In addition to promoting Ukrainian culture, “Legit” serves another purpose – helping its singers cope with their emotions and fears.

The band is now planning new performances in Odesa. Journalists can speak with Anna Paikina and the band members online or in person by prior arrangement.

• culture
• women
• Odesa

Oksana Starodub, a mother of two from Chernihiv, faced unthinkable challenges after deciding to stay in her hometown when the war began. Her husband, Mykola, joined the territorial defense forces on the second day of the all-out invasion, determined to protect his family and city. On March 6, 2022, russian mortars struck Oksana’s home, leaving her severely injured and unable to move. Her teenage son bandaged her wounds as they awaited help, but continued shelling prevented an ambulance from reaching them. Eventually, Mykola and his unit managed to return home, where a military medic applied a tactical tourniquet to Oksana’s leg before she was taken to a hospital. The hospital, overwhelmed with wounded, was operating under dire conditions. Power was down due to nearby shelling, staff was stretched thin, and resources were scarce. Drinking water arrived only once daily, and food for both patients and doctors was cooked outdoors over an open flame. Oksana later traveled to Vinnytsia for multiple surgeries and, by September 2022, was able to walk on her own again. 

Meanwhile, Mykola continued defending the Chernihiv region until his battalion was deployed to Donetsk. On June 17, 2024, during a combat mission, Mykola sustained fatal wounds, leaving Oksana a widow.

The Children of Heroes charity foundation is currently supporting the family. Dedicated to aiding children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the foundation offers financial assistance, psychological counseling, legal aid, and educational support to help these children grow and thrive until adulthood.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• russian crimes
• women
• Chernihiv

Ivona Kostyna has been working with military personnel and veterans since 2015. Initially, she and the Pobratymy Foundation organized trips for psychologists to the front lines to provide mental health support to Ukrainian defenders. Over time, Ivona realized that soldiers would need continued care long after leaving the service.

Determined to address this, she collaborated with specialists to develop psychosocial adaptation programs. Soon after, she and her partners launched the first Veteran Hub in Kyiv—a space where service members and their families can access legal assistance, psychological counseling, and guidance on employment, education, and grant opportunities.

Within two years, the team expanded, opening another Veteran Hub location in Vinnytsia. To ensure equal access to services regardless of a veteran’s location or mobility, the organization also launched mobile offices in Kyiv, Vinnytsia, and Dnipro in 2020, bringing support directly to those in need.

Since 2018, Ukraine’s Veteran Hub has operated without public fundraising. However, in January 2025, after the U.S. Department of State suspended funding for international assistance programs, the organization was forced to close its Vinnytsia branch and its Support Helpline. For the first time, the team publicly appealed for donations from the community and businesses.

Thanks to the support of Ukrainian businesses and the community in Vinnytsia, the team has raised over UAH 9 million, ensuring the continued operation of the organization’s services for at least three months.

The Veteran Hub team is now seeking regular donors to sustain their support for soldiers and their families.

Ivona Kostyna is available for meetings in Kyiv, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• psychological support
• women
• Kyiv

Valeriia Vershynina was born and raised in Donetsk. In 2014, when russia launched its first assault on Ukraine and occupied her hometown, she and her family fled to Kyiv.

After settling in the capital, Valeriia joined Stabilization Support Services, a charitable foundation focused on assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs). She became part of a working group responsible for developing legislation related to displaced populations. In 2024, Valeriia stepped into the role of executive director of the foundation.

“Stabilization Support Services received funding from American donors, with one of the foundation’s key programs dedicated to helping IDPs rebuild their homes. However, that funding was recently cut, putting several projects at risk,” Valeriia explained. Now, she is working to secure support from donors in other countries to keep the foundation’s initiatives moving forward.

Interviews with Valeriia Vershynina can be arranged both online and in person in Kyiv by appointment.

Background: Stabilization Support Services is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that has been operating since 2016, working to address the social impacts of the war and provide comprehensive support for internally displaced persons. The foundation offers humanitarian and legal assistance, helps repair damaged homes, strengthens Ukraine’s social protection system, and has built a national network of IDP Councils, launched between 2019 and 2020. Its programs span the entire country, with a focus on restoring war-affected communities and improving access to social services for Ukraine’s most vulnerable populations.

• casualties
• occupation
• reconstruction
• women
• Kyiv