UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Aug 15 — The Russians hit the evacuation vehicle of medics performing a combat mission in the Kharkiv region with an FPV drone, killing 35-year-old paramedic Oleksandra Mulkevych and injuring another one, said Vladyslav Yefarov, a deputy chief of Chuhuiv police, to Suspilne, Ukrainian media outlet. The second medic refused hospitalization, despite her injuries. 

Russia started its new offensive north and northeast in the Kharkiv region in May, but Ukrainian troops have stabilized the frontline in this section since. Now, heavy battles are ongoing in and around Vovchansk (three miles from the border, 46 miles away from Kharkiv) and near Lyptsi (six miles from the border, 12 miles from Kharkiv.)

According to Yefarov, Russia targeted Hospitallier medics twice that day: first, they hit their base with artillery strike, then they attacked their car with a drone. 

“The crew of three girls had to work the last day of their rotation today and were supposed to be home with their families tomorrow. Three brave Ukrainian women who chose saving lives as their mission, the most peaceful and dangerous idea, were forced to change their civilian professions and join the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Another young life of a brave Ukrainian woman has been cut short at the hands of the Russians,” Yana Zinkevych, MP and commander of the Hospitallers volunteer battalion, wrote on Facebook.

Comrades-in-arms called Oleksandra “friend Mike,” noting her hard work and willingness to help in difficult situations.

“All our friends described her as a ‘universal fighter’ who never refused to help, could do any job, any project, and always created the most pleasant ‘atmosphere’ they had ever experienced,” the volunteer battalion wrote in its social media.

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  • In Kharkiv, air raids alerts have become more frequent but shorter. According to Oleh Syniehubov, governor of Kharkiv Oblast, all the changes in air raid alerts are due to the situation in the region, reported Suspilne.