Khrystyna Omelchenko has been dreaming of a career in the military since she was a schoolgirl.
Fate decreed otherwise, and she became a doctor. But she didn’t want to hold this particular position in the army. Even before joining the army, Khrystyna was involved in parachuting, hand-to-hand combat, and airsoft.
When the war broke out in 2014, she was looking for any opportunity to defend the country with arms. After several attempts, she managed to join the Right Sector.
“I got a combat position, just as I wanted. And in 2022, during Russia’s full-scale invasion, I was recruited to the 80th separate airborne assault Galician brigade, but as a medic. A year later, I received my coveted combat position. I always said I was ready to master any weapon available. That’s how I became the commander of the grenade launcher unit of the AGS,” the soldier says.
Khrystyna’s unit took part in combat operations near the village of Klishchiyivka in Donetsk region.
“They were shooting at the infantry. Sometimes the intensity was so intense that it rubbed my fingers on the trigger mechanism. We worked at a distance of several hundred meters to the enemy. Everyone is scared, but the main thing is not to let fear take over and make you panic. I have never regretted my choice, because this is the main function – to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Khrystyna recalls.
Public Relations Service of the Command of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine