Former Journalist Sharhovska Dies After Frontline Medic Service

Olena "Jane" Sharhovska, a journalist who became a battlefield medic, has died at 46. Yana Zinkevych, commander of the Hospitallers medical battalion, and Sharhovska's former colleagues at Novynarnia announced the death on October 24, 2026.

Before the war, Sharhovska worked as a journalist, translator, editor and social media specialist across television and print. She contributed to projects for Ukraїner and Osvitoria. Her medical volunteering began in 2015 with the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital named after Mykola Pyrohov, and she later joined the Hospitallers.

Zinkevych said Sharhovska learned tactical medicine and moved to evacuate wounded soldiers from active sectors. "Having mastered tactical medicine, Jane went to evacuate the wounded from the hottest sections of the front line, snatching the lives of our soldiers from the jaws of death on the way to stabilisation points," Zinkevych said.

Sharhovska also campaigned for women to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the same terms as men. She co-organised the 2016 Invisible Battalion March in Kyiv, where participants asked authorities to open military positions reserved for men to female applicants.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Sharhovska was in Portugal. An injury delayed her return, and she volunteered from abroad. On September 10, 2022, her birthday, she enlisted with the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Her deployments included Bakhmut, Toretsk and Kharkiv Oblast, where she carried out medical evacuations and trained other service members in tactical medicine. As a member of the Women's Veteran Movement, she pressed for female defenders to receive proper equipment. She was discharged in August 2024 for health reasons.

Novynarnia remembered her as "a person of words and travel, with a deep interest in the world and in people." The outlet said she continued raising funds for soldiers and buying vehicles for the front after her discharge. Her motto, it reported, was: "Do what you believe needs to be done, and then come what may." Bohdan Lohvynenko, founder of Ukraїner, recalled that he and Sharhovska lived in neighboring buildings in Vynohradar and often discussed editorial work over coffee in one of their kitchens.