1996–2022
Kateryna Stupnytska
Combat medic
At 20 she walked into the enlistment office on her own to become a military medic. Medical service sergeant Kateryna Stupnytska carried the wounded out under fire and was killed in Kyiv oblast on 8 March 2022. Hero of Ukraine (posthumously).
Key accomplishments
- Graduated from Dubno Medical College (2015) and worked at a village medical post
- From 2016 served on contract as a medical instructor in the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Prince Roman the Great
- Went on front-line rotations with the brigade before the full-scale invasion
- Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Golden Star (posthumously; Decree No. 148/2022)
A childhood dream
Kateryna Stupnytska wanted to be a medic from childhood. Born in 1996 in the village of Zaliznytsia in Rivne oblast, she graduated from Dubno Medical College and went to work at a village medical post. Then, at 20, she walked into the enlistment office on her own. In 2016 Kateryna signed a contract and became a medical instructor in the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Prince Roman the Great.
On the front line
Even before the full-scale invasion, Kateryna went on front-line rotations with her brigade. In 2021 she renewed her contract. Alongside her service she enrolled at a university in Rivne to study physical therapy.
Near Makariv
In spring 2022 the brigade was fighting in Kyiv oblast, near Makariv. On 8 March Kateryna carried wounded soldiers out under fire, among them a platoon commander, and gave them first aid. By one account, at least one wounded soldier survived only thanks to Katia.
Medical service sergeant Kateryna Stupnytska was killed on 8 March 2022 in a Russian air strike on the village of Nalyvaikivka in Kyiv oblast. She was 25.
How she is remembered
On 19 March 2022 Kateryna was posthumously made a Hero of Ukraine. Streets in Korets, Rivne and Kyiv now bear her name.
