Ukrainian Soldier Injured in War Recalls Shrapnel Wounds as Frontline Images Reveal Ongoing Toll

Deployed to the front lines from the very start of the war

She was struck by shrapnel from a shell that landed near the trench where she was hiding, injuring her head and throat, and later lost one eye when a landmine exploded.

Her name is Olga (26), a Ukrainian soldier. February 24 marked four years since Russian invasion of Ukraine began, and Olga enlisted in the Ukrainian military at the very start in February 2022. Below are her own words from an on-site interview.

“When I was at my family home in Kyiv, I heard multiple impacts the morning the war began. I felt from the bottom of my heart that I wanted to protect my country—protect Ukraine’s children. I immediately ran to the nearest military recruitment office and enlisted.”

Olga has another side besides being a soldier. Influenced by her musician mother, she began playing violin and piano at age four and performed on a concert hall stage by age five. She studied at Ukraine’s top conservatory in Kyiv and won numerous international competitions. She was a promising graduate student violinist when Russia invaded.

“After completing basic training, I was deployed in May 2022 to the front lines in Luhansk. I fought Russian forces as a light machine gunner and RPG operator. I was the only woman in my unit, but since I had practiced karate and boxing from age 13 and held a black belt in Kyokushin karate, I carried out the same duties as the male soldiers.”

She endured many horrific experiences. In May 2023, while fighting about 100 meters from Russian positions in Kharkiv, an enemy shell struck a neighboring trench. As shells rained down, Olga rushed to help her comrades.

“My comrade was buried in the dirt. I kept encouraging him, saying, ‘You’ll be okay, I’ll take you to the hospital,’ but he had been shot in the head, and part of his brain was exposed. By the time we carried him to the evacuation vehicle, he had died.”

After witnessing her colleague’s death, another shell landed about one meter from her trench. She suffered a concussion and was hit by shrapnel in her head and throat, but fortunately her injuries were minor, and she soon returned to her unit.

However, she then suffered a life-altering injury.

“While moving in a military vehicle, a landmine exploded. I lost consciousness and fell into a coma. I lost my left eye, and my body was struck by many fragments, one of which lodged in the center of my cervical spine.

The thick muscles I had built through karate protected me from the fragments, but it could have been far worse. After hours of surgery and rehabilitation, it took about a year before I could return to the military.”

She is now stationed in southern Zaporizhzhia, working on drone research and development. The evolution of drone weaponry has been remarkable—depending on the model and battery, flight range has expanded from about 5 km to around 20 km over the past two years.

Though she continues to risk her life as a female soldier, Olga has not abandoned music.

We must not forgive Russia

“After losing my left eye, I couldn’t move my arms at all for several months, but I’ve finally recovered enough to play the piano. The apartment I’m staying in has an electronic piano. I think about what I experienced on the front lines and the comrades who died before my eyes, and I play whenever I can find the time.”

The invasion by Russia has now entered its fifth year, but there is still no clear path to ending the war.

“We must keep fighting until Ukraine achieves victory. We must not allow Russia’s tyranny—forcing other countries into submission through power. At the same time, I also want the war to end as soon as possible. I want to return to the peaceful days of the past. When the war is over, I want to work in music and the arts.”

One can only hope that the day will come when Olga can return to her life as a musician.

From the March 13-20, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”