Iryna Chertushkina is known to her colleagues as a rescuer and a true professional. A top-category paramedic at the Zaporizhzhia Motor Car Depot, she has dedicated almost 18 years of her life to the railway, caring for the health of machinists and depot workers.

January 22, 2026, was supposed to be a quiet day off at her home in Komyshuvakha. But the enemy decided otherwise. Around 5:00 PM, a Russian guided aerial bomb (KAB) struck directly into her house.

Iryna was buried under the ruins of her own home. Her husband, also a railway worker, was on shift at the time. Iryna’s life was saved by a mother’s intuition: sensing something was wrong, her mother rushed to the ruins and begged rescuers to dig exactly where she felt her daughter was.

Currently, Iryna is conscious but unable to speak. Doctors in the Zaporizhzhia Regional Hospital are fighting for her recovery. Our colleague has sustained severe combined trauma: a pelvic fracture and extensive burns to her face, eyes, chest, and limbs.

The path ahead is difficult: surgeries, treatment for burns, saving her vision, and long rehabilitation. On top of this physical pain, she faces the total loss of her home.

The "Iron Family" does not leave its own behind. Iryna cared for railway workers for years. Now it’s our turn to care for her.

Fundraising Goal: Stage 1 – Saving Life and Vision. Funds will cover urgent medication, eye surgeries, and burn treatment.

Every donation gives her a chance to return to a full life.