The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
A combat crew of the 138th Dnipro Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, which includes radar reconnaissance operator Hanna with the call sign “Romashka”, has destroyed more than one hundred enemy aerial targets.
Material about the defender was published on January 2 on the page of the Air Command “East”.
For her dedicated combat service, Hanna was awarded the Order of Courage, Third Class.
She proudly speaks about her service in the military and the young, cohesive team of people devoted to their mission. She says she joined the Armed Forces by the call of her heart, and that her acquaintances were already serving in the Dnipro Brigade.
“And at some point I thought to myself: why not? We all live in Ukraine — that’s how it all started”, — the operator recalls.
On the day the full-scale Russian invasion began, her unit was providing cover for friendly forces and infrastructure facilities in the eastern direction. In addition to Hanna, four other women operators were on duty.
“Readiness number one: we were all at our stations, at the equipment. The commander gave clear commands — target acquisition, lock-on, tracking. It’s a matter of seconds. The command: ‘Launch!’ — the missile takes off. Again and again. It’s impossible to describe in words; it takes your breath away. It’s scary, of course. The first target destroyed by our crew was a Russian cruise missile”, — Romashka said.
The entire crew was awarded high state honors and departmental distinctions.
“When the unit commander said we were going to receive awards, it was very pleasant but unexpected. Our crew has saved the lives of both military personnel and civilians more than once”, — the defender says.
Speaking about her call sign, Hanna smiles: she was named “Romashka” (“Daisy”) for her strength of character, characteristic of this resilient wildflower.
“And also because my patronymic is Romanivna”, — Hanna smiled.
