Author name: daria

In her civilian life, she is a designer, president of the Mutokukai-Ukraine Aikido Federation, 5th dan aikido. Since 2013, she has participated in the Revolution of Dignity and the war in eastern Ukraine as a paramedic. She is a commander of the volunteer medical evacuation unit “Taira’s Angels” and the evacuation unit of the 61st …

Yulia Payevska: “The army wins battles, but it’s the people who can win the war” Read More »

Student I am from the city of Lubny, Poltava region, and lived there with my grandmother until I was in the 9th grade.  In the 10th and 11th grades, my parents took me to Kyiv to enter the university. I have been living in Kyiv for 12 years now.  I could not imagine that my …

Yulia Shevchuk: “It is very difficult not to fight when there is an ongoing war” Read More »

A child of the military I was a good child. I did well at school.  As a child, I played chess. And, as they say: “Those who play chess are more disciplined”. It was true about me. I also grew up in a military family – both my mom and dad are military. So I …

Dmytro Kozak: “When the injured go in for sports, they seem to be reborn” Read More »

Before the full-scale war I studied food processing engineering. So I worked as a barista in one of Kyiv’s cafes for a reason. I worked and studied graphic design at the same time. In general, I was engaged in self-education – courses, and lectures. I was planning to finish my career in the restaurant industry …

Oleksandr Budko: “I like to show people that it is possible to reach the top without legs, arms, or any other body parts” Read More »

The first year of the war “Until 2014, I worked in Kyiv installing metal structures. And I went to war voluntarily and became a grenade launcher. My ego led me then, and I knew I had to do this. I was a paratrooper during the compulsory military service. So I felt obliged to do it. …

Vadym Maznichenko: “If not just one person, but a lot of people express their gratitude, it will give veterans confidence and understanding that they did not fight in vain” Read More »

The beginning of the war When I was deciding where to go to school, I chose between a military university and a university of civil defence, which was subordinated to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. I really wanted to help humanity. I decided that I would be able to do this thanks to my certain …

Ihor Derman: “I want to show the world that we are still here, we have not all been killed yet, we are fighting and will continue to fight” Read More »

A dream of the sea Since childhood, I wanted to be a sailor. I loved the sea. We travelled to Crimea in 2006-2008, to Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yevpatoria. As a kid, I would look at the horizon, see ships and tell my father: “I will grow up and go to work on a ship. I just …

Veniamin Bondarchuk: “When you evacuate the wounded and killed, there is no time to think about how sorry you are for everyone” Read More »

Earnings in Moscow Before the war in Ukraine, I used to go to work in Moscow. It was easier to get there than to get to Europe. My goal was to earn money, become independent and wealthy, start a family and build a house. Even then, I could feel the difference in our mentalities. In …

Pavlo Luchkiv: “If you want to change something, you need to do something” Read More »

A premonition of a full-scale war I lived in Kryvyi Rih, happily, with my wife and small child, who was almost three years old in 2014. I worked as a lawyer, had my own law firm, and hosted a TV program in which I tried to explain complex legal issues in human terms. The war …

Nazar Vozniuk: “In the army, there is something you cannot find in any other circle – a sense of trust” Read More »

Part of the army I am from Zaporizhzhia. For the last four years, I had been working as a forklift driver at a company called Silpo. But on February 26, 2022, I was already at the distribution point, holding a rifle, already part of the army. Back on February 22, I quit my job. I …

Kostiantyn Kobylianu: “I didn’t come to the Invictus Games on my own – I was brought by fate” Read More »