JULY 1, 1998 — MAY 29, 2024
25 YEARS, JOURNALIST, PARAMEDIC
Iryna bore the call sign Cheka. Just two days before her 26th birthday, the war claimed her life. It happened on the Kharkiv front: her crew hit a mine. Iryna was a combat medic in the Hospitallers battalion, dedicating her health and youth to saving the wounded. She couldn’t live any other way—believing that real life existed there, on the frontlines, while the rest was merely an illusion.
"I want children. I want a house. I want to plant tomatoes, but ending the war—that’s the most important," Iryna would say.
Cheka came from Lviv, from a family of true warriors. Before even turning 18, she had already traveled to the east of Ukraine. She was deeply in love with Donbas, often telling people that she was from Makiivka. Her journeys to the war began in 2015, at just 16 years old.
She volunteered, spoke with local youth—trying to make them fall in love with all things Ukrainian. She filmed a documentary about children in remote villages of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, writing down their dreams. However, the film was never shown in Kyiv, as the premiere was set for February 25, 2022.
In civilian life, Iryna was writing her master's thesis and working as a producer at Suspilne, having earned numerous awards for her journalism. Beyond her work, she devoted herself to educational projects, including lectures on media literacy. Friends say she carried countless plans, so much meaning, wisdom, and pain within her.
After each rotation, Iryna would say, "I don’t know how we survived today." She had prepared for death—writing a will. In it, she requested that instead of flowers, donations be made to the battalion and to the families of fallen soldiers. As for clothing, she wished to be dressed in either an embroidered shirt or camouflage. She also asked that ten songs, which she had chosen herself, be sung during the funeral.
"Do not grieve for me. Life is very short, and if it continues after death, we will meet again. To have the strength to be a free person, one must be brave. Only the brave find happiness, and it’s better to die running than live rotting," Cheka wrote in her farewell letter.
