I had to get used to life in the rear all over again: the story of a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war

Valentyna Vedrovska, nicknamed Veda, is a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In peacetime, Valentyna ran a non-governmental organization, took an active part in the political life of Lviv region, and raised her daughter. February 24, 2022, divided Valentyna's life into before and after: she joined the army and became an aerial reconnaissance officer. After a year and a half of service, Valentyna returned to civilian life and received medical support and adaptation as part of the MHP Poruch program. Valentyna told about her journey from civilian life, to the front and back in an interview with Espresso, reports UNN.

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Valentyna started her career as an aerial reconnaissance officer from the first days of the war. At that time, she was not ready for mobilization, so she found a basic military training course where she learned the basics of weapon handling, tactical medicine and aerial reconnaissance.

After a training course on flying copters, she realized that she was fascinated by it, so she came to the CCC with her documents to apply the knowledge she had gained in practice. That's how Valentyna ended up in the Armed Forces. At first, the command was in no hurry to send her to the combat zone. But the woman insisted that she wanted to fly, not sit around. She got the go-ahead from the command and started flying reconnaissance drones.

Valentyna would find the enemy and its equipment, then provide the coordinates to the artillery and adjust the strike on the enemy. Sometimes, during one sortie, she managed to detect 55-60 pieces of enemy equipment.

After a year and a half of service, Veda returned to civilian life for family reasons. Valentyna recalls that it was difficult to adapt at first: for the first few months, she didn't even want to get out of bed. She had to get used to life in the rear all over again.

After two months of rest, the woman realized that the war had changed her worldview and she had no plans to return to her previous job. The woman was familiar with MHP's activities and the MHP Poruch program, which provides support to the military, veterans and their families: during service and on the way back to civilian life. From medical, legal and psychological support to assistance to military units.

Valentyna's attention was drawn to the values that the company promotes. So, after returning from the war, she decided that she wanted to work for MHP. And in the first days she received medical support and adaptation to new living and working conditions as part of the MHP Next door program.

A special workplace was allocated for Valentyna in the company's office, as she was not comfortable working in the same room as all the other employees.

"When you spend 95% of your time surrounded by 3-5 people from your crew, everything is as quiet as possible, calm, minimal movement, minimal change. And when you clearly remember that open space is death, you feel a little sick. So now I am happy that I have a "home" here. I laugh and say that you can still hang a curtain here," the veteran said.

Valentyna is convinced that the readiness of the team to accept a veteran is a necessity in modern Ukraine. She emphasizes that the needs of veterans need to be integrated comprehensively.

In addition, according to the woman, it is extremely important to perceive the needs of demobilized soldiers as general needs of citizens.

Today, Valentyna works in MHP's Corporate Social Responsibility Department. Her responsibilities include ensuring that the communities where MHP operates develop and prosper. It is important that both veterans and civilians feel comfortable living and working there. 

"MHP Poruch is a program of individual support and comprehensive support for military personnel, veterans and their families.

The program supports military personnel, veterans and their families during their service and after returning from war. It includes, among other things:

- humanitarian aid to military units;

- medical examination, treatment and rehabilitation;

- legal and psychological support;

- social reintegration;

- professional adaptation;

- availability of a hotline that is available 24/7.