52-year-old Olena Nevara passed away in a hospital in Dnipro on May 13, 2023. Medical staff fought for several weeks to save her life after she sustained severe burns during Russian shelling of the village of Malotaranivka in Donetsk Oblast, but she ultimately succumbed to complications arising from her injuries.
The fatal attack occurred on the morning of April 29, 2023, when Russian forces targeted Kramatorsk and surrounding settlements with drones. The strike set fire to two private residences and an outbuilding. Emergency responders rescued Olena and her 16-year-old daughter, Yelyzaveta, from the scene. Yelyzaveta tragically died in a Dnipro hospital on May 5, 2023.
Olena worked as an emergency call-taking paramedic at the Donetsk Regional Center for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine. Colleagues remember her as a sincere, compassionate, and warm-hearted individual who took great care of her flower-filled yard in Malotaranivka and prioritized the well-being of her children, Vladyslav and Yelyzaveta.
"Olena was a truly big-hearted, wonderful person. We worked together for many years. We grieve for her and her young daughter with all our hearts," shared her colleague, Halyna Kalinichenko.
Earlier, on March 8, 2023, Olena had lost her husband, John Nevara, a well-known otorhinolaryngologist (ENT specialist) in Kramatorsk. Following the onset of the full-scale invasion, the family had temporarily evacuated from Donetsk Oblast to Cherkasy Oblast, where John headed a local paramedic station. After his passing, the family returned to their home in Donetsk Oblast.
Olena Nevara is survived by her son, Vladyslav, and her sister.
At 9:00 AM — the national minute of silence. The Donetsk Regional Military Administration and the "Memorial: Killed by Russia" platform honor the residents of Donetsk Oblast killed by Russian forces.