29-year-old volunteer and paramedic Yana (Yara) Rykhlitska died near Bakhmut

Yana (Yara) Rykhlitska, a paramedic of the 93rd “Kholodnyi Yar” brigade, was killed during the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian defenders near Bakhmut. Her ambulance came under fire from Russian forces.

Before the full-scale war, Yana worked as a recruiter in the IT sector. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, she volunteered and helped civilians and Ukrainian servicemen. Later, Yana joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and became a paramedic at the first aid post in Bakhmut.

Yana’s friends say she did everything for the victory, risking her life to help wounded Ukrainian soldiers. She was called the “Angel of Fighters”.

“The first aid post is where the wounded from the battlefield are bandaged and prepared for the long way to the hospital. I can’t even imagine the number of wounded soldiers in Bakhmut. But when I asked, “how are things going?” Yana wrote back: “So far, the situation is under control“. It was a few hours before her medical evacuation vehicle came under fire,” recalls Yana’s friend Tetiana Zenart.

Yana’s parents refused to take any financial support for themselves and called on all those willing to donate to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in memory of their daughter.

Yana Rykhlitska would be buried on March 7 in Vinnytsia, her hometown. Yana would have been 30 on April 2, 2023.