‘Every Ukrainian is Contributing to Our Common Victory’
Meet five Ukrainians proving the country’s resilience and resolve two years into Russia’s full-scale war
In February 2022, Svitlana was a student, working as a paramedic in her hometown in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. The morning of Feb. 24, her mother woke her up and told her that Russia had invaded.
“I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a terrible nightmare,” she said.
For most of Ukraine’s citizens, there is a before Feb. 24 and an after. While that “after” was filled with terror, family separations, destruction, and heartbreak, it was followed closely by righteous anger, resilience, and resolve. Everyday activities have become demonstrations of Ukrainian resilience, every action an embodiment of Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s full-scale aggression.
An intern became a front-line paramedic. A farmer sowed his spring crops, just days after his land was liberated. An engineer put out fires following a missile strike to keep heat and power flowing. A student learned to combat cyber attacks. And a medical director led her hospital to safely deliver babies in bomb shelters.
During the last two years, USAID has supported Ukraine to fight for its freedom — not just by providing life-saving humanitarian aid, but with critical development assistance that is helping the government continue providing important services like health care and education, strengthening Ukraine’s economy, and helping it prepare for a future as a free, sovereign country.
None of that could happen without the Ukrainians who are working off the battlefield to keep their country free and their countrymen safe. Meet five of them.
Svitlana — Providing healthcare on the frontlines
Svitlana, a paramedic, reported back to work on the second day of the full-scale war — ready to serve her country and her community. The emergency medical care and disaster medicine center where Svitlana works is one of three emergency medical centers in frontline areas in the Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions.
“The calls are difficult, the roads are bumpy, the circumstances are dangerous,” she explains. “I may look like a weak, fragile girl, but I can help, I can save people’s lives so that they can return home to their families.”
Every life saved by frontline paramedics like Svitlana is another act of Ukrainian resistance against Russia’s aggression.
Taras — Sowing fields after occupation
Taras is a grain farmer from Borodyanka in the Kyiv region. Russia’s troops occupied Borodyanka in the early days of the full scale invasion, including Taras’s farm, where they destroyed buildings, machinery, and grain stores, and mined half of his fields. Taras returned to his farm as soon as it was liberated and was back in the fields just five days later to sow his spring crops on the 90 hectares of land that remained unmined.
“The damage caused by the Russian occupiers set our business back 20 years…[but] this is a family business that I inherited from my parents. Deep down I always knew I would salvage whatever was salvageable and would take it from there,” Taras says.
Maxym — Restoring power after a missile attack
Maxym is responsible for running the boilers and turbines at one of Kyiv’s combined heat and power plants. Russia’s missiles target Ukraine’s key energy production and transmission sites in an attempt to plunge the country into dark and cold. In fall 2022, one of these missiles hit Maxym’s plant. Maxym led his team to prevent disaster.
“No one panicked; we worked clearly and smoothly. We extinguished the fire and saved the equipment,” he said.
Still recovering from the shock of the missile strike, the team restarted their equipment, repaired the transformers, and reconnected the plant’s electricity supply to the capital’s energy grid, restoring heat and hot water supply to Kyiv’s residents.
Daryna — Preparing to resist cyberattacks
Daryna was young when Russia first invaded Donbas 10 years ago, displacing her and her family to the Kyiv region to seek safety. Recognizing how Russia uses technology to spread disinformation and undermine Ukraine, Daryna now studies cybersecurity at a university in Kyiv. Since Feb. 24, 2022, the number of malicious cyberattacks against Ukraine has massively increased.
Daryna says: “It’s important work with great significance for protecting Ukraine’s IT systems on all levels — from applications to critical infrastructure facilities. Every Ukrainian is now making their contribution to our common victory. I will continue to use the skills I’m learning to support Ukraine and fight against Russia’s aggression.”
Dr. Halyna — Delivering babies in bomb shelters
Dr. Halyna is the Medical Director of Chernihiv Maternity Hospital, which provides essential care to thousands of women across the Chernihiv region. In the first 24 hours after Russia’s full scale invasion, the hospital safely delivered 12 babies and evacuated all patients to a bomb shelter — a shelter which became not only the hospital’s delivery room, operating theater, and intensive care unit, but also provided safety for 200 residents from Chernihiv city.
Over the past two years of Russia’s full scale war, Dr. Halyna’s hospital has safely delivered more than 3,000 babies. “[We] ensure that new life continues to appear in Ukraine. Because only then will it have a future,” she says.
Since Feb. 24, 2022, USAID’s humanitarian and development assistance has supported Svitlana, Taras, Maxym, Daryna, Dr. Halyna, and millions more Ukrainians as they continue to resist Russia’s aggression and prepare for Ukraine’s future.
To learn more, visit www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine.
About the Author
Krystyna Larkham is a Senior Communications Specialist with the USAID/Ukraine Development, Outreach, and Communications team.
