STORY 2- Ostrovska Hanna “SKIF”
"Sometimes, talking to a friend, I realize what different worlds we live in. One shows me what dress she bought, and my mind is on those I have prepared to go face to face with death."
Hanna smiles beautifully, and it seems to me that she has captured the entire summer sky in her blue eyes. Her face lights up when we talk, but even when she smiles, her eyes somehow remain sad. If I didn't know her, I would think that the delicate woman in front of me is a ballerina or an artist because she moves gracefully and seems extremely fragile. But Hanna is a nurse, a combat medic, and many, many lives depend on her. Hanna is the trainer of rescuers, daily instructing teams of volunteers and military personnel who operate in conflict zones.
"For Ukrainians, the war began in 2014. In 2022, there was a large-scale invasion by the Russians. I was a nurse, and I started training as a paramedic in 2014. Since then, my instinct when I hear an explosion or see an accident, I don't run away from it, but towards it. Because my mission is to save lives."
Her son, Mykhailo, is 13 years old, and she raises him alone. He is her friend, confidant, but above all, he is the source of strength to keep going. She raised him, teaching him to be as independent as possible, to be able to handle things on his own. From a young age, he already knew what should be in the emergency kit, what essential items are in crisis situations, how to fill out forms, and how to take shelter in case of explosions or armed attacks. "I couldn't afford not to teach him all these things. We were in the another region in 2014 when the war started, and we had to flee to Kyiv, then we moved to Dnipro."
When she talks about her son, Hanna's blue eyes are heavy with tears. "I think I've been too much of an adult with him. I told him that life can change in an instant, and he has to adapt, cope. Unfortunately, he has already experienced that..."
Before 2014, she worked as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit in the maternity hospital, but the historical, political, and social reality of that year meant a change in both her life and her career. To save their lives, Hanna and her son had to leave their home. Later, she became a combat medic, and then a trainer. She speaks calmly, and each sentence is full of wisdom. She jokes as we talk, but I've already learned that humor is a basic component in the survival kit of those facing war. Even her jokes are profound, full of wisdom.
Since 2014, she has been a volunteer, providing medical aid to the wounded in the conflict zone. Also she joined the volunteer battalion Dnipro-1 as a combat medic, and since 2017, she was invited to teach at the Department of Tactical-Special Training of the State University of Internal Affairs in Dnipro. Immediately after the Russian invasion in February 2022, Hanna spent almost all her time at the Volunteer Coordination Center in Dnipro, receiving and distributing medical aid, participating in the rescue of victims of rocket attacks in Dnipro. In April 2022, former army comrades asked her to organize training for a unit on the front line. The condition was that the training should take place 15 km from the front line. Hanna agreed. Since then, her blue car, filled with medical equipment, has been on missions in different directions of the war: from Chernihiv, Sumy, Kupyansk to Odesa, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia. Sometimes these trips last up to 10 or 12 days, as the number of units involved in training fighters increases. Hanna has created her own team of volunteers, consisting of six instructors, each with their own area of expertise.
"War doesn't just mean weapons and explosions. In war, it's essential to have a shovel with you. And it's crucial, alongside the skills of using weapons, to know how to use that shovel. Because only if you dig with stubbornness and determination will you have a chance to stay alive in case of a shelling. And that's what I try to teach my trainees. To be willing to do that wearisome work, which has nothing heroic about it but can save your life. I insist on teaching them to dig trenches, alongside all the other rescue and first aid techniques we learn together.”
It has been and is still very hard for her when she learns that a large number of the units she has trained were killed. More than 30 military medics, who were her friends, 18 of which were her trainees, have lost their lives in addition to far too many others... That's why she tries to build an invisible emotional wall between herself and those she trains to protect her inner resources and to have the strength to smile at her son when he comes home.
"Sometimes, talking to a friend, I realize what different worlds we live in. One shows me the dress she bought, and my mind is with those I've trained to face death. I think I should also remind myself, even if occasionally, that I am a woman, not just a sergeant. I need courage to become a woman again."
Hanna smiles at me. Even though her eyes remain sad, the entire room seems to brighten, and I can hope for a good and beautiful future, despite the evil that today extends its tentacles and wants to bite from the sky.