Kherson volunteer Olena Tarasenko, injured in Russian attack, dies in hospital
Olena Tarasenko, a 48-year-old volunteer from Kherson, who was severely wounded in a Russian shelling on May 24, died in hospital on July 4.
Olena Tarasenko, a volunteer from Kherson, died in hospital on July 4 at the age of 48, succumbing to severe injuries sustained in a Russian attack on May 24. She had been transferred to the neurology department a week before her death.
On May 24 at approximately 9:45 a.m., Russian forces shelled the Korabelnyi district of Kherson with artillery. Tarasenko was driving a car when she suffered severe shrapnel wounds and was taken to hospital in critical condition. She underwent surgery the same day. An 81-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man were also injured in the attack.
After the liberation of Kherson, Tarasenko evacuated 50 people to Ukrainian-controlled territory during the occupation. She also brought medicines, animal feed, and food. On one of these trips, she was captured by Russian forces and held for eight days in a torture facility set up in the basements of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kherson Oblast.
Following Kherson's liberation, Tarasenko moved to Ternopil, where her son lived, and worked at the Legal Space center. Six months later, she returned to Kherson and worked as a case manager in a safe space for women and girls.
She is survived by her 85-year-old mother and 21-year-old son.
