12-05-2025
She killed Russians with grenade launcher – Ukraine's General Staff reveals how nurse saved unit from encirclement
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has told the story of nurse Svitlana, who killed a group of Russian soldiers with a grenade launcher and thus saved her unit from encirclement.
Source: General Staff on Facebook
Details: Svitlana was at a company stronghold located among the ruins of Staromaiorske in Donetsk Oblast when a fierce attack by the Russian forces with armoured vehicles and paratroopers began.
It is recounted that at that moment the unit was left without a commander, so the woman took command. She received instructions from the battalion commander, who was watching the battlefield via video feed, and corrected the actions of all the soldiers at their positions.
"At first, Svitlana fired back alongside her brothers-in-arms. When it became clear that the unit's positions were surrounded, as a group of occupiers entered one of the houses from the rear and took fire control of the escape routes and ammunition supply lines, Svitlana took up a disposable grenade launcher," the statement said.
Quote from Svitlana: "I asked the guys to hold on and not to leave their positions under any circumstances, because then we would definitely not be able to resist. And then I took a disposable grenade launcher and went to meet the Russian paratroopers. They had come too close - they were only two houses away. I walked around them, stood up and fired a shot through the window of the house. The whole group of occupiers remained there."
The General Staff added that this thwarted the Russian attack and the encirclement of the Ukrainian soldiers' positions. In a few days it became possible to carry out a rotation of the Ukrainian soldiers and withdraw them from their positions.
"The guys said, 'Well, you're crazy'. What was I supposed to do at that moment? Wait for the enemy to kill us all?" the nurse said.
The other day, the commander of the 128th Dyke Pole Brigade decorated Svitlana with the Cross of the Land Forces.
Reference: From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Svitlana volunteered because she had extensive medical experience. In particular, she worked as a nurse in the intensive care unit of Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro.
The General Staff noted that, like all the soldiers of the 230th Separate Battalion of the 128th Dyke Pole Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Svitlana had fired many times at the training grounds with all types of weapons, including various grenade launchers.
Svitlana's son, also a volunteer, was killed in action near Bakhmut.
Currently, she is with her battalion, which is defending the Zaporizhzhia front.
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