Olena Sharhovska, Ukrainian Paramedic and Journalist, Dies After Military Service

Olena Sharhovska, known in the military as Jane, has died. The death was announced by Yana Zinkevych, the commander of the Hospitallers medical battalion, and by her former colleagues at the media outlet Novynarnia.

Sharhovska built a long career in the media before shifting her focus to medical work in 2015. She worked as a journalist, translator, editor, and social media specialist across print and television platforms. She also contributed to projects for Ukraїner and Osvitoria. Her transition to medicine began when she volunteered on the front line with the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital named after Mykola Pyrohov.

Zinkevych described the intensity of Sharhovska’s military role. The commander noted that Sharhovska mastered tactical medicine and went to the hottest sections of the front line to evacuate the wounded. Zinkevych said she was snatching the lives of soldiers from the jaws of death while transporting them to stabilisation points.

Beyond her medical duties, Sharhovska advocated for gender equality in the armed forces. She co-organised the Invisible Battalion March in Kyiv in 2016. The event urged authorities to open military positions to women that had previously been reserved for men. During the full-scale invasion, she was in Portugal when an injury delayed her return to Ukraine. She served as a volunteer abroad before officially joining the military on her birthday, 10 September 2022.

As a member of the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Sharhovska was deployed to Bakhmut, Toretsk, and Kharkiv Oblast. In these areas, she performed medical evacuations and trained other service members in tactical medicine. Through the Women's Veteran Movement, she pushed for female defenders to receive proper equipment. She was discharged from service in August 2024 for health reasons.

Novynarnia remembered Sharhovska as a person of words and travel with a deep interest in people. The outlet noted that she continued to help fellow soldiers through fundraising and bought vehicles for the front despite personal difficulties. Her motto was: "Do what you believe needs to be done, and then come what may."

Bohdan Lohvynenko, a serviceman, journalist, and founder of Ukraїner, also paid tribute to her. He recalled living in neighbouring buildings in Vynohradar and discussing editorial matters in their kitchens. Lohvynenko described her as an enormous source of support and a driving force behind many processes, while remaining quite harsh towards the unknown.