In Lviv, Ukraine’s oldest woman, former UPA liaison Olena Rybalko, has died at the age of 109
Kyiv • UNN
Olena Rybalko, a former UPA liaison and doctor, died in Lviv on October 9 at the age of 109. The farewell ceremony will take place on October 12.
In Lviv, at the age of 110, Olena Rybalko, Ukraine’s oldest resident and a former liaison for the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, died. The Lviv City Council announced this on the evening of October 11, UNN reports.
In Lviv, at the age of 110, the prominent Lviv resident and former Ukrainian Insurgent Army liaison Olena Rybalko died
"Olena Rybalko devoted her life to medicine, helped wounded insurgents, and survived the Holodomor. She was Ukraine’s oldest resident. According to her family, Mrs. Olena’s earthly journey ended on Friday, October 9," the city council reported.
Where the farewell ceremony will take place
The farewell ceremony will take place on Monday, October 12, at the Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The funeral service will begin at 12:00. Olena Rybalko will be buried at Yaniv Cemetery, in the family tomb.
What is known about Olena Rybalko
Olena Rybalko was born on June 2, 1917, in Vinnytsia region, where she received a medical education.
Her father, Kyrylo Rybalko, was a soldier of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and a founder of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. In 1937, he was executed by an NKVD troika for activities aimed at reviving the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church. Her mother, the last descendant of the Ukrainian branch of the Potocki counts, died during World War II.
Olena Kyrylivna survived the Holodomor of 1932–1933. In 1946, she moved to Lviv, where she devoted her life to medicine.
She was assigned to work in Lviv region, where she took the position of chief physician at the Pustomyty District Hospital.
While working as a doctor, she helped wounded insurgents. She devoted nearly her entire life to medicine, retiring at the age of 89.
Her patients included prominent figures in Ukrainian culture, science, and the church, including Dmytro Pavlychko, Ivan Krypiakevych, and Yosyf Kladochnyi.
During those difficult times, she did not remain on the sidelines of the Ukrainian people’s struggle for freedom. Olena Kyrylivna provided medical assistance to Ukrainian insurgents and performed operations in Ukrainian Insurgent Army hideouts, risking her own life to save others, the Lviv City Council stated.