b. c. 1988
Valeriia Karpylenko
Azov press officer and poet
“Flowers and Weapons” is the title of a poetry collection by Mariupol journalist Valeriia Karpylenko, call sign Nava. In 2022, as an Azov press officer, she told the world about the defence of Azovstal; then she spent almost a year in russian captivity and wrote a book about it.
Key accomplishments
- From 2015 in the press service of the Azov regiment; later head of the press service of the Donetsk border guard detachment (2017–2020)
- During the defence of Mariupol in 2022 worked in Azov’s press service at the Azovstal steelworks, where she was promoted to captain
- Medal “For Military Service to Ukraine” (decree No. 343/2022 of 17 May 2022)
- Author of the poetry collection “Flowers and Weapons” and of the books “Captivity” and “Azovstal: The Steel Press Service” (2024)
Flowers and weapons
That is the title of Valeriia Karpylenko’s collection of poems. She was born in Mariupol, studied journalism at Mariupol State University, earned a PhD in social communications and taught there. In 2014, when war came to the Donbas, she turned to military journalism.
The voice of Azov
In 2015 Valeriia joined the press service of the Azov regiment as a volunteer, working with journalists. From 2017 she headed the press service of the Donetsk border guard detachment, and in 2020 she left the military.
When the full-scale invasion began, she went back to Azov. On 27 February 2022 she was brought to the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. There she worked in the regiment’s press service, led by Dmytro Kozatskyi: it was largely through their work that the world learned what was happening in the encircled city. At the plant Valeriia was promoted to captain, and on 17 May 2022 the President awarded her the medal “For Military Service to Ukraine”.
On 5 May 2022, in a bunker at Azovstal, she married a border guard, Andrii Subotin. Two days later he was killed.
Captivity and books
In May 2022, when the Ukrainian troops left Azovstal under orders, Valeriia was taken prisoner by russia. She came home in an exchange in April 2023, after almost a year in captivity.
After her release she wrote about what she had been through. In 2024 the Folio publishing house brought out her books “Captivity” and “Azovstal: The Steel Press Service”, about the press service’s work during the defence of the plant. She signs them Valeriia “Nava” Subotina.
Why it matters today
During the siege, Azov’s press service was one of the few voices getting the truth about Mariupol out to the world, and Valeriia was among those doing that work. Words became her weapon: first in the press service’s work from the encircled plant, then in books about the defence and captivity that keep this story for those who come after. Almost a year in captivity did not silence her. Her words that “Ukraine could not abandon you” are worth hearing for anyone waiting for someone to come home from captivity.
