Former Journalist Olena Sharhovska Dies After Medical Service in Ukraine

Olena Sharhovska, a former journalist who spent the final years of her life as a frontline medic, has died at the age of 46. She had served with the Hospitallers medical battalion and the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Her colleagues at Novynarnia and battalion commander Yana Zinkevych confirmed the news.

Before her military service, Sharhovska worked in media for many years. She acted as a translator, editor, and social media specialist for television and print outlets. She also contributed to projects for Ukraїner and Osvitoria. Her shift to medicine began in 2015 when she volunteered with the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital named after Mykola Pyrohov.

Sharhovska’s military career accelerated when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. She was in Portugal at the time and an injury delayed her return. She continued volunteering from abroad until she officially enlisted in the military on 10 September 2022, her birthday. She was discharged for health reasons in August 2024.

During her 25 months of service, she was deployed to Bakhmut, Toretsk, and Kharkiv Oblast. Zinkevych said Sharhovska evacuated wounded soldiers from the most intense sections of the front line. Beyond her own medical duties, Sharhovska trained other service members in tactical medicine. She also campaigned for women to serve in combat roles and for female defenders to receive proper equipment.

Sharhovska co-organized the Invisible Battalion March in Kyiv in 2016. The event urged authorities to open military positions to women that had previously been reserved for men. As a member of the Women's Veteran Movement, she continued to push for better support structures for female soldiers.

Novynarnia described her as a person of words and travel with a deep interest in people. The outlet noted that she kept helping fellow soldiers through fundraising and buying vehicles for the front. Her personal motto was to do what she believed needed to be done and then accept the outcome.

Bohdan Lohvynenko, founder of Ukraїner, recalled living next door to Sharhovska in Vynohradar. He said they often discussed editorial matters in their kitchens. He described her as a driving force behind many processes and a harsh critic of the unknown. She is remembered as a dual careerist who bridged the worlds of journalism and battlefield medicine.