Iryna was a waitress and restaurant manager until 2014. Now she is saving lives and protecting the free world.

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1. Iryna Burban-Kovalenko, callsign Witch, serves as a paramedic-instructor in the 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade. She has been with ZSU since 2014. Witch says her greatest strength comes from her daughter, who awaits her at home.

   Until 2014, Witch worked first as a waitress and then as a manager of one of the restaurants in Lviv. Witch had never held a gun before 2014. She also admits that she cried when she had to make an injection into a vein for the first time. “I was sitting over the soldier, crying, and injecting into his vein. And he was laughing,” she recalls.

   In 2022, while stationed at the Makariv direction, she had to provide assistance not only to her army mates but also to civilians who tried to evacuate.

   “The wounded civilians were brought to the basement in the village where we were stationed. The first civilian I tried to save was a man with a smashed head. I tried to save him, but there are injuries that are not survivable. I still tried,” shares Iryna.

   And sometimes it seems that the soldier won’t survive, but they do survive.

   “Last year, in September, the evacuation was very difficult due to weather conditions, and dense shelling with artillery, tanks, plus drones. We had to walk 12 kilometers on foot. And when people with two or three amputations and lung injuries survive, and they survived, it’s a miracle. Evacuation could last 12 hours, 24 hours, 37 hours. And people survive, they have such a thirst for life. And medics help them,” she says.

   From late November 2022 until March 2023, Iryna worked in a civil-military cooperation group. She had to describe and photograph the bodies of killed Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut.

   “There were remains of bodies. Phones were ringing, wives and daughters were calling. I didn’t answer; it wasn’t allowed. The phone would ring, and we waited for the call when the body was unrecognizable. And the responsible person who answered the call tried to find out who it was.”

   Iryna Burbank-Kovalenko came to Lviv for a short vacation to rest and spend time with her little daughter. She says she went with her child to the shopping center and was struck by the number of young and healthy men who do not join the army.

   When challenged that they could be military personnel in civilian clothes, she replied that she can distinguish military from others.

   “I see their eyes. And also their behavior in the crowd: we don’t mingle in the crowd, we stick to the walls. The bright light hurts our eyes. And the shoes. Although I’m dressed in civilian clothes, my footwear is different. And the guys do the same; they forget that shoes need to be changed,” she says.

   And to those who are afraid to join the army and try to avoid it in every way, she reminds them that if Russian troops come here, they will force Ukrainians to fight in their ranks.

   “Our enemy is mobilizing. And weapons and equipment are being produced. And we need to defend ourselves if we don’t want what happened in Bucha to be repeated in Lviv. If we continue to adhere to Russian narratives that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are bad, then Russians will come to Lviv very soon. And then you will tell them what’s good and what’s bad. But they won’t listen to you,” Iryna predicts.

   And she advises those who avoid military service to use the thesis that we are not going to die in war but to win.

   The woman adds that if adult people refuse to be mobilized now, their children will have to fight later.

   Source: https://suspilne.media/716696-namagaessa-zrobiti-vse-mozlive-bojova-medikina-pro-robotu-na-fronti/

2. One more courageous Vidma Bідьма dedicating her magic to protect her land and people. Respect, hero! Повага!

3. Stay safe.

4. Unbreakable!