I spent the last two weeks of August 2023 in Ukraine for The Irish Times, my third trip since February 2022. In the course of my reporting, I interviewed Lieutenant Yulia Mykytenko for an article about women in the Ukrainian military. She is one of the most extraordinary people I have interviewed in 42 years of journalism.
Mykytenko is young, beautiful, intelligent, educated, ambitious and has known great tragedy in her 28 years. She is self-confident and assertive, but at times almost shy. When I asked her if she would consider writing a book with me, she replied that she was an ordinary Ukrainian. I discussed the idea with my interpreter, Nazar Yatsyshyn, who thought she might decline because she “isn’t interested in glory.”
Mykytenko was awarded a medal for courage last October. As the commander of a frontline drone unit in Donbas, she has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. She agreed to write a first-person memoir with me, recounting her life against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
Regards,
Lara Marlowe, author of How Good It Is I Have No Fear of Dying
This post was originally published on mhpbooks.com
