Alina Pashchenko, a 22-year-old volunteer, was killed on the front lines
A 22-year-old female volunteer, UAV operator Alina Pashchenko—call sign “Freya”—was killed while carrying out a combat mission. She served in the 60th Separate Mechanized Ingulets Brigade and had volunteered to join the military. Her death was reported by the civic organization “Sokil” and Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy, where she had been a student.
Alina Pashchenko died on July 1, 2026, while carrying out a combat mission on the front lines. She was only 22 years old. She volunteered to defend Ukraine after the outbreak of full-scale war. She served as a drone operator with the 60th Separate Mechanized Ingulets Brigade of the 3rd Army Corps.
Before her service, Alina was the head of the Cherkasy branch of the All-Ukrainian public organization “Sokil” and was actively involved in civic activities. Members of the organization’s Cherkasy branch recall that she consciously chose the path of a defender of Ukraine. “Having voluntarily stepped up to defend Ukraine, she served as a UAV operator with the 60th Separate Mechanized Ingulets Brigade of the 3rd Army Corps. Our friend ‘Freya’ gave the most precious thing she had—her own life—in the fight for Ukraine’s freedom, independence, and future,” the All-Ukrainian Public Organization “Sokil” reported.
Alina was also a student at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy. She studied at the Educational and Scientific Institute of Economics and Law, majoring in “International Economic Relations,” and had successfully completed her fourth year.
The university described the tragic coincidence. While her classmates were receiving their diplomas, Alina herself was on the front lines. “On June 30, her classmates were receiving their diplomas while she was defending the country as a UAV operator with the 60th Separate Mechanized Ingulets Brigade of the 3rd Army Corps. Alina had completed her fourth year at the Institute of Economics and Law, majoring in ‘International Economic Relations.’ On July 1, she was killed while carrying out a combat mission,” the university’s press office reported.
The university, her friends, and fellow soldiers expressed their condolences to the soldier’s family and loved ones. Alina “Freya” Pashchenko will forever be remembered as a person who voluntarily stood up to defend her country and gave her most precious gift—her own life—for Ukraine. Thiswas reported by the “Sokil” civic organization and the press service of Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy.
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