For combat medic Olha Hulyuk, the Russian-Ukrainian war began in the Anti–TerroristOperationZone (ATO). She exchanged the warm office of the medical center in the village of Horodok in the Rivne district, for conditions that are far from domestic. Civilian clothes were replaced with military uniform, and beautiful women’s shoes with sneakers.
Olha Hulyuk has been in many areas of the front-line. She came under artillery fire, and, because there were not enough people, overtook enemy defensive lines together with our soldiers. The soldiers respected her, called her by her first name, sometimes ‘Medychka’.
Five members of Olha Huliuk’s family went to war
“How could one stay at home when the enemy attacked our country?’ Olha reflects, ’These are not pretentious words. For example, five people from my family went to war. My brother Taras was the first to go to the ATO zone in 2014. At that time, I was working as a pediatric nurse in Horodok, and my rehabilitation office was located there. I said to myself: ‘Now, Olha, it’s your turn!’. It was 2015. My father Ivan went to war after me.
In 2015-2016, I was a tactical medicine instructor at the Yavoriv training grounds. In 2017, I signed a contract with the famous 80th Air Assault Brigade. That’s were I met my future husband, Oleksandr. We served together for an extended period of time – in the 80th brigade and 14th Prince Roman the Great separate mechanized brigade.
He became the fourth in our family to take up arms to drive the Russian evil from our land. By the way, Oleksandr really wanted to join the airborne assault troops, so he concealed his disability.
The fifth man to go to war was Oleksandr, a full orphan from Crimea – we took him into our family as our own.
My father and brother returned from the war, but its consequences affected their physical and moral condition – they passed away. My husband was transferred to the rear after active hostilities due to his health condition.
The youngest, Oleksandr, was also transferred to the rear after being wounded. He became an instructor, and now he teaches new recruits.”
The shell exploded between the couple 15-20 meters away
As the combat medic recalls, it was in the early spring of 2022:
“It was a sunny day. Our unit had moved to a new location. I decided to call my father. And then I heard a command: ‘Air!’. The guys hid behind the car. I was in the other direction and started to look for a hole to hide in. I fell face first to the ground, holding my phone in my teeth, because I had covered my head and neck with my hands. I see my husband running in the distance. The shell exploded between me and Oleksandr about 15-20 meters away. Shrapnel from it missed us. Several of our comrades-in-arms were lightly wounded.”
An American “Hummer” was a great help
During the war, Olha Huliuk was a paramedic at a medical center. She also had to temporarily act as the head of the division’s medical service. According to her, it was very difficult.
She speaks enthusiastically about the ambulance, an American “Hummer”:
“It can carry four wounded people at once, and its four compartments are stocked with modern equipment. In this ambulance I even administered an intravenous drip to our fighters.
The ambulance was often driven at night and the road was dotted with what we called ‘pencils’ – unexploded shells. To drive past them without tripping ‘death’, the driver had to have endurance and professionalism. There was a case when we almost fell off a bridge – there was only about half a meter to a large hole in it.
To summarize, I would say that combat medics walk on a knife’s edge.”
Embroidery – to calm the soul
Olha Huliuk has been embroidering since childhood. She did not give up this hobby in adulthood. On the contrary, embroidery has become her art because it calms her soul. According to her, she took up this traditional form of decorative and applied art in earnest during her army service, whenever she had a free minute during night duties. However, in 2022-2023, circumstances prevented her from embroidering.
Her works include shirts, dresses, icons, and nature landscapes. She didn’t count the number of embroideries she created, she gave many of them to her friends and acquaintances.
From a medic to a psychologist
Eleven months ago, Sergeant Olha Huliuk transferred from the 148th Brigade to the Rivne District Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support. Here, as a senior combat medic, she also has a lot of work to do. Some soldiers need to be referred for treatment, others need help with their paperwork for disability. Many need psychological support. Usually, soldiers talk more openly with those, who also fought at the front.
After the war, Olha Hulyuk says, there will be many people who will need psychological support. That’s why she decided to get another degree in psychology and enrolled in Psychology Department of the Rivne Institute of the International University “Ukraine”.
Sergeant Huliuk deserves good words
The deputy commander with the call sign ‘Musician’ said:
“Olha Hulyuk manages the cases of people who are mobilized, and also provides medical support. Reports are sent through her. Together with the doctor, she makes firm, reasonable decisions. I say this because there has been a lot of speculation on this topic recently.
A combat medic deserves good words.”
Olha Huliuk was awarded the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s badge ‘For Saved Life’.
Vasyl Zakrevskyi
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