'I'm a Ukraine Combat Medic. I've Heard What Russian Soldiers Do to Women'

I joined the Ukrainian Marine Corps in 2020 after my boyfriend was killed by a sniper while fighting against pro-Russian forces in Talakivka, eastern Ukraine.

At the time, it seemed nobody—not our president or other world leaders—was prepared for Russia to attack us again. Despite what we were told officially, I understood that a full-scale invasion was imminent.

I wanted to be prepared for such a moment. I decided I would follow in my boyfriend's footsteps and join the fight. I knew the second phase of war would come.

I was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. Before joining the armed forces I was an activist and student of philology and literature at Kyiv Mohyla Academy—one of the oldest theological schools in Eastern Europe. Professionally, I worked translating English to Ukrainian for publishing houses.

My activism began in 2010 after Viktor Yanukovych, a then-ally of Vladimir Putin, became president of my country. I was witnessing what I thought was an attempt to turn Ukraine into an autocratic, Soviet state and began actively protesting against his policies; campaigning for democracy and our national identity.

I supported initiatives promoting the Ukrainian language, which we felt the government was trying to destroy. Yanukovych granted Russian the status of regional language, which I believe pushed the idea that Ukrainian was outdated. I feel a colonial narrative towards our country was created, starting from Yanukovich to the beginning of the war.

In 2013, I joined my university in protesting during the Revolution of Dignity and in 2019 became a volunteer paramedic with the Hospitallers Medical Battalion, who provided aid to Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline.

After becoming a contract soldier in 2020 I underwent training in combat and first aid, eventually qualifying as a combat medic and drone pilot, and starting my first tour of duty on the front line as a member of the 140th Marine Reconnaissance Battalion in August 2021.

When the full-scale invasion took place in February 2022, I had already been on the frontline for eight months.

I have a daughter, who recently celebrated her ninth birthday. She was evacuated from Ukraine to abroad, so I have not seen her for a very long time. It's been very difficult. For many Ukrainians, the toughest part of this war is families being torn apart.

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, I didn't believe that I would survive. During our first months on the frontline, we fought in the villages of Mariupol, engaging in very hard battles against Russian units that were four or five times bigger than us.

In April 2022, my battalion and I were relocated to eastern spots of the Donetsk region such as Popasna, Bakhmut, Sloviansk, and Lyman, where we have been working ever since.

I have been lucky to stay alive, but I am just doing my job. At the beginning, I kept repeating to myself that I had to be brave. I have no other option—because otherwise, my home would cease to exist.

Within one month of the full-scale invasion, I understood that it was better to be a woman in the armed forces than a civilian woman because you have a weapon to defend yourself.

I have witnessed first-hand that civilian women in war zones are absolutely vulnerable. While defending a village 45 km north of Mariupol for a week against Russian forces I spent every day aiding civilians.

One of these civilians was a mother whose 9-year-old son had been badly injured in the chest. The image of her, clutching her newborn baby to her chest while her elder son was wounded in front of her, has not left my mind since. It was terrible. We managed to evacuate her, and her children.

Her son survived, but Russia has since occupied that village and I am afraid to think of what they've done there.

In the last few days, I have heard stories about Russian soldiers who occupied a village near Kyiv raping a Ukrainian woman every day for months. Every day, threatening they would do the same to her small daughter.

I believe that for some Russian soldiers, the sexual abuse of women is part of spreading their empire. They understand the occupation of a territory to be raping the women there. This is their understanding of power.

Last year a senior United Nations official told the Security Council that allegations of sexual violence by Russian troops in Ukraine were increasing; by June 2022 the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights received reports of 124 acts of conflict-related sexual abuse across Ukraine.

In addition to this, the war has created a risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, and human trafficking, for the millions of refugees who fled at the beginning of the war, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

I cannot allow myself to think about what would happen if I was captured by Russian forces. I know I cannot allow myself to be a coward. What helps me when I hear about such torture is knowing that rape is an act of cowardice.

In my eyes, a person who commits an act like that destroys himself first.

During my time on the frontline, I have lost five comrades from my company. This is perhaps the hardest thing to witness. To be the person who tried to help them or who evacuated them is extremely difficult.

One of my toughest experiences was the loss of my platoon commander, senior lieutenant Anton Hevak whose nickname was Perun, meaning lightning in English. He taught us the basis of military reconnaissance; how to observe different territories. My platoon and I always trusted his leadership—we were ready to go anywhere with him.

He was a true friend and always supported me as a female combatant. Many men have a rather old-school understanding of females in the military, and thought I should do some safer job, but he supported me.

We lost him on March 5, during a contact battle on the streets of Zachativka village in Volnovakha Raion, where he received a bullet to the chest. It was very difficult. I didn't have a moment to say goodbye to him because I was under another position. Then his body was evacuated and I never saw him. I couldn't believe he wasn't here anymore.

After witnessing footage that appears to show a Ukrainian prisoner of war being beheaded by Russian servicemen, I immediately thought about all of our soldiers, our guys, who had to suffer that.

For me, that soldier is comparable to Christ. He endured the worst that war can bring humanity. He went through that and I respect him; but the Russians who carried out such an act, to me they are soldiers in disguise.

Much Russian propaganda I have heard references sentimental stories from Russian literature about honored, highly-valued Russian soldiers. To me, this is b*******. The people who commit these acts are not soldiers, they are just criminals.

I have great amounts of gratitude to both the U.S. and the U.K. for all the support their countries have given us during this period. It's been incredibly important to us during this year, but I believe it's vital Russia receives more sanctions.

The existing sanctions have already been very influential, so we need to continue that pressure. I hope the U.S. will support us by providing HIMARS artillery rocket systems and tanks—which are essential in helping us stop this war.

By using these systems we can hit important military spots on Russian territory. It's important to stress that for our army, for our command, it's essential to only hit their military logistics, not civilian logistics.

We don't want to destroy the lives of civilians. For that, we need HIMARS and other long-distance rockets, because it helps us to save our soldiers' lives and to stop invaders.

I believe that one day Russian forces will be forced by us to leave their positions on our territory. I believe it's going to happen because they are already very demoralized. Their propaganda is trying its best to convince them to die for nothing. But it won't work forever.

One day, they will be tired of being this meat—Putin's meat, to fulfill his ambitions. And, if we prove to them that they continue dying while trying to occupy more territory, I am sure that they will stand down.

Yara Chornohuz is a Ukrainian combat medic and drone pilot. She belongs to the 140th Marine Reconnaissance Battalion. You can follow her on Twitter @BlackStork22.

All views expressed in this article are the author's own.

As told to Newsweek's My Turn associate editor, Monica Greep.

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