Protective mother: Liudmyla "Malva"

Liudmyla “Malva” lived in Moscow together with her youngest son Stanislav. In 2012, they returned to Ukraine and participated in the Revolution of Dignity.

At the age of 50, Malva became a volunteer of the Aidar battalion. She worked her way up from the clerk to the first sergeant of an assault company. In 2018, she became the first woman who headed the armored service of the battalion, after being wounded she received the second group of disability, but at the beginning of the full-scale war she returned to the front as a combat medic and a senior sergeant for logistical support. She passed Sievierodonetsk and Bakhmut, after numerous contusions and partial loss of hearing and sight in 2023, Lyudmila was released from military registration.

 What do children mean to you, how did you keep in touch with them?

For me, children are my future, the future of my family, the future of my country. The most precious thing I have is my children and grandchildren.

The younger son, Stanislav, has been actively helping the army since 2014, and later volunteered as a medical instructor in the Aidar assault battalion. On 27 July, my son’s sworn brothers called me and told me that near Lutuhyne in Luhansk region, Aidar people died in battle. My son was among them.

They were able to identify him by the cross that I gave him. He gave his life for the freedom and liberty of my country. I raised him well.

How and when did you decide to fight?

When Stanislav died, I decided that I should join the army. Exactly where my son fought – in the 24th Separate Assault Battalion “Aidar”.

At first it was revenge against the enemy, and then I realized that I found my sons and daughters, brothers and sisters there. I understood that I had to fulfill what my son did not have time to do.

In the army, I always had a portrait of Stanislavchyk and a sock of my grandson  with me, he was small then, and now he has size 39. Why a sock? Because it is dressed on a leg, and little legs take the first steps on our native land. This sock was very small, it inspired me a lot and I understood that my grandson is very small and I have to protect him hundreds of kilometers from my home.

How did the family support?

In September 2016, my husband Yurii, who also became my sworn brother, was transferred to my battalion. We fought together. In 2022, I returned to the army, and my husband and I were enrolled into the 205th Separate Territorial Defense Battalion of Kyiv. We could not join our 24th battalion because they were in surroundings at that time.

Now, in the rear, I tell about the war through my own story, through my feelings, vision of all the horrors of war to an international audience. I spoke in Davos, Munich, Washington, Texas – I emphasized that we need weapons.

With the war, no one from our family went abroad – some protect, others help the army. The eldest son always helps my battalion. He has an active public position, I am proud of him.