Meet the women saving lives on Ukraine's front line
Meet the women saving lives on Ukraine’s front line
Olena Hryshanina provides crucial care in emergencies. © UNFPA Ukraine/Masha Kholodziinska
![Ukraine - Figure 1](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories-banner/Banner_1440x800.jpg)
26 July 2024
The war in Ukraine continues to take a heavy toll on millions of women and girls, as well as on those providing essential services on the front line and beyond.
Find out what motivates the women in the health force – people who dedicate their lives to helping others survive, recover and find moments of joy – and hear their personal reflections on life and work during war.
– El’nore Troyan Araz Keesey, paramedic, Luhansk region
![Ukraine - Figure 2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_1.jpg)
– Natalia Myla, obstetrician-gynaecologist, Lviv region
![Ukraine - Figure 3](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_2.jpg)
– Inna Kukurudza, obstetrician-gynecologist, Vinnytsia region
– Elmira Ismailova, obstetrician-gynaecologist, Zaporizhzhia region
![Ukraine - Figure 4](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_3.jpg)
– Tatiana Putria, nurse, Kherson region
![Ukraine - Figure 5](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_4.jpg)
– Alisa Telegina, obstetrician-gynaecologist, Odesa region
![Ukraine - Figure 6](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_5.jpg)
– Olena Hryshanina, anesthesiologist-reanimatologist, Kharkiv region
![Ukraine - Figure 7](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_6.jpg)
– Daryna Kucher, obstetrician-gynaecologist, Mykolaiv region
![Ukraine - Figure 8](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_7.jpg)
– Oksana Skrypka, obstetrician-gynaecologist, Chernihiv region
![Ukraine - Figure 9](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_8.jpg)
– Oksana Karalash, neonatologist, Chernivtsi region
– Natalia Tkachuk, obstetrician-gynaecologist, Volyn region
![Ukraine - Figure 10](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_9.jpg)
– Natalia Zbryshchak, obstetrician-gynaecologist, Ternopil region
![Ukraine - Figure 11](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_10.jpg)
An exhibition, “Vocabulary of Braveness,” features a number of the images seen here. The photos will be on display at Ukrainian House, Kyiv, from 26 July to 1 August 2024. All portraits have been created by female Ukrainian photographers.
The initiative has been produced as part of the humanitarian response by UNFPA Ukraine, with financial support from the governments of France, Iceland and the Netherlands.
![Ukraine - Figure 12](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_11.jpg)
UNFPA is working alongside the Government of Ukraine to restore and expand life-saving reproductive health and protection services. Mobile gynaecological units take health services to women in remote parts of the country, and a maternity unit in Kharkiv ensures that pregnant women have access to emergency obstetric care.
![Ukraine - Figure 13](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/stories/UKR_photoessay_12.jpg)