Olena Kurylo’s image appeared on front pages around the world, including the Evening Standard
(Picture: ES Composite)A Ukrainian woman whose bloodied face and bandaged head became one of the early images of the war after Russia’s invasion has told how she would like to start a foundation for orphans and return home as the first anniversary of the start of the conflict approaches.
Olena Kurylo, a teacher who fled after being injured to become a refugee in Poland, was hit by flying glass when a Russian strike destroyed the apartment block where she lived in Chuguiv, near Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine.
A large shard of glass was removed from her head by a medic outside, before her now famous picture was taken by photographers who had rushed to the scene.
Her photo was soon being displayed on front pages around the world — including the Evening Standard — as a symbol of the horror already being inflicted by Vladimir Putin’s invasion which has since led to tens of thousands of deaths on both sides.
Today, as Ms Kurylo recounted her horror at what she felt at the time was “the beginning of the end”, she said she now looked forward to the day when President Vladimir Putin was no more and she could return to her homeland and set up a foundation for Ukrainian orphans.
“I don’t have any money, but I have a name known the world over,” she said of her dream of helping orphans.
“When I get back, I’d like to just sit down with a hot cup of tea. Then the following day I’ll go to the florist and get a lot of plants.”
“I’d like to believe that Putin will be no longer. But it will take some time for the wheel to spin and stop. When a car’s going at full speed, it can’t just come to a halt in a single second.
Looking back at the events that made her face world famous. Ms Kurylo, who is now living in the southern Polish city of Katowice, said: “I was on the sofa when I heard a loud noise and saw the window shatter against the wall. Then the pieces hit me,” she said.
“After I got covered in broken glass, there was total silence for, like, 10 seconds. Then I heard the cries of the wounded.
“For a fraction of a second, the thought crossed my mind that I wasn’t ready to die, not right now.”
Recalling the hours after when the photos of her injuries became world famous, she added: “I didn’t believe it. I looked at the photos without interest … but as it turns out, they were the first to become a sort of symbol of the war.
To prove she was “not a fake,” as false Russian claims alleged, she posted a video of herself on Instagram that was viewed by more than 2 million people.
She has since had medical treatment to deal with “a shard of dirty glass in my eye” a “missing .. piece of my retina, which is also wrinkled now”, having four operations in total, including one in London. She still has a long scar near her temple.
As well as her ambitions for a orphans foundation, Ms Kurylo, whose nails are painted in the blue and yellow colours of her country’s national flag, has given money raised from the auction of portrait of her by an American artist to pay for equipment for Ukraine’s army.
“I’ve since done a number of projects and every penny raised has gone to help Ukraine,” she added.
