The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Karolina, with the call sign “Myshka”, has gone from being a young woman working in the beauty industry to a soldier saving lives on the front line.
Her story was shared on the page of the 43rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.
She was born in Mariupol, and in 2018 she joined the local military enlistment office. Her path in the military began with working with conscripts — she accompanied young men being sent to their units and dealt with medical commissions.
“Before the war, Karolina had a completely different world — the beauty industry. She did nails and eyelash extensions, but the example of her brother and friends who served in the military, as well as the atmosphere of shooting ranges, gradually drew her into the military environment”, — the 43rd Separate Mechanized Brigade said.
After the full-scale invasion, the Mariupol enlistment office was disbanded, and a new stage began for Karolina — service in the 43rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.
“This became a turning point in her life”, — the brigade said.
In 2023, she went to the Czech Republic for training, where she received basic medical knowledge. At first she did not believe she could become a medic, but she proved the opposite.
Today Karolina is a sanitary instructor of the 1st Mechanized Battalion, working in an evacuation team: she retrieves the wounded, stabilizes them, and transports them to a stabilization point.
The hardest part for her is seeing familiar faces among the wounded.
She says that after the war she dreams of maternity leave and a peaceful life, but for now her place is alongside her comrades, in the ranks.
“Her story is an example of how war changes destinies, but at the same time reveals new strength and purpose in a person”, — the 43rd Separate Mechanized Brigade concluded.
