Oksana Parafeniuk

Aug 17, 2024 | kyivindependent.com | Oksana Parafeniuk

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Kyiv announced a general mobilization, thousands of Ukrainians have been called up to defend their homeland. In Ukraine, conscription is mandatory only for men. Despite that, more than 45,000 women have voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are currently serving alongside men.

Aug 4, 2024 | nytimes.com | Constant Méheut |Daria Mitiuk |Oksana Parafeniuk

For the past two and a half years, Kateryna Bairachna has wanted to meet someone special. But war always gets in the way. Ms. Bairachna met a soldier, but then he was sent to the front. She traded text messages with another man, but those fizzled out because he was in no mood to meet, fearing he might soon be drafted. On the dating app Bumble, Ms. Bairachna liked the looks of a hipster. But when she scrolled through his photographs, she noticed his amputated leg.

May 19, 2024 | buffalonews.com | Oksana Parafeniuk

Sergiy Klimov, an author and ambassador for Ukrainian wines, examines a vineyard near Kyiv, Ukraine, May 4, 2024. Ukraine is one of the world’s historic wine-producing regions, with a history that stretches back thousands of years. (Oksana Parafeniuk/The New York Times)

May 19, 2024 | buffalonews.com | Oksana Parafeniuk

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Apr 9, 2024 | nytimes.com | Constant Méheut |Oksana Parafeniuk

Lizi, 2, in Odesa, Ukraine. She struggles to fall asleep, her father said, and often asks him to stay by her side while she dozes off. They were together during the strike. Credit... In the photograph, Anna Haidarzhy and her 4-month-old son, Tymofii, are barely visible under the bloodstained blanket. They lie in the rubble, at the feet of rescue workers in black and fluorescent uniforms. Just two arms, one from the mother, 31, one from her son, can be seen sticking out of the blanket.