A young Ukrainian medic and a mother of who took up arms to defend her country was killed while fighting Russian troops in the city Donetsk in the south of the country. Olga Semidyanova, 48, according to reports, was fatally injured during a firefight with invading Russian troops.
She kept fighting, while most of her unit had been killed, till she suffered a gunshot. Tributes have since been pouring in from all corners on social media for her brave and courage. However, her body is still lying on one of the streets of the war-torn Donetsk as fierce fighting has stopped rescuers from recovering her body.
Killed on Duty
News of the death of Semidyanova was shared on Twitter by Inna Sowsun, Deputy Council of the Supreme Council of Ukraine on Wednesday. Semidyanova was killed by a shot to the stomach, according to her family.
However, but her body has yet to be found due to ongoing fighting in the area, which has left her family upset.
"She saved the soldiers to the last. We have photos from the place of death — but due to heavy fighting we still can't bury my mother," her daughter Julia said.
Semidyanova lived in the city of Marhanets about 150 miles from where she died. Semidyanova, a doctor, known as 'Mother Heroine,' had served in the military since 2014 and was slain on March 3 on the border between the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, according to the Kyiv Independent.
This also shows the extent of shelling happening in Ukraine, which has made it impossible for rescuers to recover her body even after almost two weeks.
She had six children of her own but had also adopted six orphans from her local orphanage. Grateful Ukrainians flooded social media with tributes to Semidyanova. The title Mother Heroine is given to women who have had more than five children.
Young Life Lost
An adviser to the country's Interior Ministry, Anton Gerashchenko, said: "She was slain in a confrontation with Russian thugs. Even when she believed her regiment might not survive, she emphasized her desire to protect the country until the end. She is a national hero. She is a hero to me."
Tributes started pouring in on social media, the moment news of Semidyanova death was announced. Marina Ivanchenko said on Facebook: "This Ukrainian woman is truly a hero." Another user said: "RIP Olga Semidyanova, hero of Ukraine defender of Europe."
"Olga Semidyanova fought till the end for her country. RIP hero." And Stewart Merritt said: "Heroes do not die," wrote another user.
Other people referred to her as a saint and a hero, while one user wrote: "Rest in peace, hero."
It comes after troops were murdered in a strike on a military post in Yavoriv, and mourners paid their condolences. On Sunday, two men were killed when Russian missiles hit a military base in Ukraine, which serves as a hub for military cooperation between Ukraine and NATO countries. In total, at least 35 individuals were killed.
The locals came in Starychi three days later to bury Roman Rak and Mykola Mykytiuk. The soldiers were in their late 40s and early 50s.
