Meet Anastasia, call sign ACID.
Combat medic of the First International Legion of Ukraine.
Combat medic of the First International Legion of Ukraine.
We met by chance at an event - and at that very moment the idea came to shoot for her.
I wanted to tell and show her with my own eyes: strong, alive and real.
I wanted to tell and show her with my own eyes: strong, alive and real.
“My childhood was difficult: my parents drank, constant quarrels, poverty. But despite everything - I grew up as a person.
I buried my father at 19, my mother at 21.
I buried my father at 19, my mother at 21.
My life changed dramatically on February 24, 2022, when the aggressor country began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
From the first days I knew: I would be in the army, on the field, shoulder to shoulder with my brothers.
My path was difficult and thorny, but I proved — to myself and to everyone around me — that it doesn’t matter what your gender, age, or physique is. If you are a warrior at heart — you will defend your country.
My path was difficult and thorny, but I proved — to myself and to everyone around me — that it doesn’t matter what your gender, age, or physique is. If you are a warrior at heart — you will defend your country.
Infantry is one of the most difficult branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. That’s where I found myself.
In two and a half years, I saw hundreds of injuries, lost friends, received contusions and facial injuries.
The war seemed to erase all emotions… But my son, Oleksandr-Pavlo, brought them back.
The war seemed to erase all emotions… But my son, Oleksandr-Pavlo, brought them back.
Today, my role has changed: I am a mother and a volunteer.
The war is still going on, although it seems distant. And my duty as a mother is to raise a Human. To give my son the right values and love for Ukraine.
The war is still going on, although it seems distant. And my duty as a mother is to raise a Human. To give my son the right values and love for Ukraine.
And my duty as a citizen is to help the army in every possible way.
The main message of my story is simple:
You are either in the army or for the army.
You are either in the army or for the army.
Unfortunately, we do not have the right to live a "normal life" - because every second, soldiers in the trenches give their lives for us."
