On March 6, the US state department chose the most courageous woman of the year. She became a Ukrainian military medic Yulia Paevskaya with the call sign "Taira". On 8 March, International Women's Day, an award ceremony was held at the White House. US secretary of state Antony Blinken and US first lady Jill Biden awarded the Ukrainian heroine an honorary title International Women of Courage Award.
The American government stated that Yulia Paevskaya had become an example of supernatural moral and physical courage. The United States will also recall that Taira has been providing medical assistance to people since 2013 – the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity, until 2018 she was the head of the voluntary unit of paramedics Angels of Taira. In 2022, a Ukrainian paramedic was taken prisoner in Russia, where she suffered from torture and ill-treatment. Recall that the occupiers captured a paramedic in violation of all international rights – Taira evacuated women from Mariupol considered a volunteer.
"Yulia Paevskaya is best known for her work secretly filming and smuggling video footage of documented atrocities committed by the Russian military in Mariupol. The Kremlin propagandists falsely slandered her internationally as a "fascist" and a "war criminal". After her release, she actively advocated for Ukrainian democracy and independence both at home and abroad," said the US state department.
The White House has also awarded another 11 women worldwide (Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, etc.).
