Olena Sharhovska served 25 months in the military before dying at 46

Olena Sharhovska, a veteran of the Hospitallers medical battalion, has died. Yana Zinkevych, commander of the unit, and former colleagues at Novynarnia shared the news of her passing. Sharhovska had a dual career as a journalist and a frontline medic.

Her military service began on September 10, 2022, which was also her 46th birthday. She enlisted in the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after an injury delayed her return from Portugal following Russia's full-scale invasion. She served for 25 months until her discharge in August 2024 for health reasons.

During her deployment, Sharhovska was stationed in Bakhmut, Toretsk, and Kharkiv Oblast. Her duties included medical evacuations and training other service members in tactical medicine. Zinkevych described the work as snatching soldiers' lives from the jaws of death on the way to stabilisation points.

Before entering the military, Sharhovska built a career in media as a journalist, translator, and editor. She worked in television and print and contributed to projects for Ukraїner and Osvitoria. In 2015, she began volunteering on the front line with the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital named after Mykola Pyrohov before joining the Hospitallers.

Sharhovska was a co-organiser of the Invisible Battalion March in Kyiv in 2016. The event urged authorities to open military positions to women. As a member of the Women's Veteran Movement, she continued to push for proper equipment for female defenders. Novynarnia noted that she helped fellow soldiers through fundraising and bought vehicles for the front.

Bohdan Lohvynenko, founder of Ukraїner, recalled their years living in neighbouring buildings in Vynohradar. He described her as a driving force behind many processes and a source of support, though she remained harsh towards the unknown. Novynarnia remembered her motto: "Do what you believe needs to be done, and then come what may."