Olena "Jane" Sharhovska, a veteran of the Hospitallers medical battalion who worked as a translator and journalist in civilian life, has died. Olena had been saving wounded soldiers since 2015.
Source : Yana Zinkevych , commander of the Hospitallers medical battalion; Sharhovska's former colleagues at Novynarnia
Details : Olena had extensive experience in the media, working as a journalist, translator, editor and social media specialist. Over the course of her career, she worked in television and print media, as well as on projects for Ukraїner and Osvitoria.
From 2015 onwards, she dedicated herself to saving others. Jane volunteered on the front line with the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital named after Mykola Pyrohov. She later joined the Hospitallers.
"Having mastered tactical medicine, Jane went to evacuate the wounded from the hottest sections of the front line, snatching the lives of our soldiers from the jaws of death on the way to stabilisation points," Zinkevych said.
In addition to helping the wounded, the paramedic and her fellow servicewomen campaigned for women's right to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine on an equal footing with men.
In particular, she became a co-organiser of the Invisible Battalion March, an event held in Kyiv in 2016. Participants called on the authorities to allow women to hold military positions that had previously been open only to men.
Jane was in Portugal when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. An injury prevented her from returning to Ukraine immediately, but she supported the country as a volunteer.
On 10 September 2022, her birthday, Olena joined the military. Serving with the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, she was deployed in Bakhmut, Toretsk and Kharkiv Oblast.
In addition to carrying out medical evacuations, Jane provided tactical medicine training to other service members and, as a member of the Women's Veteran Movement, campaigned for female defenders to receive proper equipment.
She was discharged from military service in August 2024 due to health reasons.
"Olena was a person of words and travel, with a deep interest in the world and in people [...] Despite all the difficulties and trials, she retained her love of words and people, continued helping her brothers- and sisters-in-arms with fundraising, and bought vehicles for the front.
"Her motto in life was: 'Do what you believe needs to be done, and then come what may,'" Novynarnia said.
Bohdan Lohvynenko, a serviceman, journalist, writer and founder of Ukraїner, also shared his memories of Olena.
"We lived in neighbouring buildings in Vynohradar and often sat in one of our kitchens discussing editorial matters. You were an enormous source of support and a driving force behind many processes, while at the same time remaining quite harsh towards the unknown. I would always remind you of what you had once said about those whose ranks you later joined. And we often laughed about it," her former colleague wrote.
Background : Earlier, Yaryna Nishtuk , a defender from Lviv who served as a platoon commander of strike unmanned aerial systems, was killed in action.
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