Yuliia Paievska

Yuliia Paievska
Native name	Юлія Паєвська
Born	(1968-12-19) 19 December 1968 (age 55) Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
Service/branch	Medical Forces Command
Commands held	61st Mobile Hospital of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Battles/wars	Russo-Ukrainian war Siege of Mariupol
Awards	100 Women (BBC)
Alma mater	National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport

Yuliia Heorhiivna "Taira" Paievska (Ukrainian: Ю́лія Гео́ргіївна Пає́вська; sometimes written as Yulia Paevska) is a Ukrainian medic who founded the volunteer ambulance corps "Taira's Angels" during the Russo-Ukrainian War. She was captured and imprisoned by Russian soldiers on March 16, 2022 and released on June 17, 2022. She became a symbol of bravery and sacrifice according to the New York Times.^[1]

Paievska served as a volunteer street medic during the Euromaidan protests in 2013, then as a tactical medicine trainer on the front lines in Donbas from 2014 until 2018, where she founded "Taira's Angels", who are credited with saving hundreds of lives, including Ukrainian civilians, Ukrainian soldiers, separatist militants, and Russian soldiers. She served in the Ukrainian Army as the head of a military hospital in Mariupol from 2018 until 2020, when she was demobilized but continued to work as a volunteer medic.

Paievska documented her work in early 2022 during the Siege of Mariupol with a bodycamera, and smuggled the video out of the city with the aid of a local police officer and international reporters on March 15, 2022. The next day, Paievska and her ambulance driver were captured by Russia while assisting a wounded civilian fleeing the Mariupol theatre airstrike. She has since been used in Russian propaganda videos, which accused her of associating with Nazis and committing crimes.

A resident of Kyiv, Paievska was raised by her grandfather, a decorated Soviet World War II veteran who had fought in the Siege of Leningrad. Prior to the war, Paievska worked as a designer, aikido coach, and volunteer medic. She was president of the Aikido Federation "Mutokukai-Ukraine". Paievska was injured during her tour of duty, necessitating the replacement of both hips and leaving her with a partial disability. She was slated to be the only female member of Ukraine's 2020 Invictus Games team, competing in archery and swimming, but her capture prevented her from competing in the rescheduled Games in April 2022. Paievska's daughter competed in her place and won a bronze medal in archery.