Anna Tereshchenko was born and raised in the village of Sloboda, Cherkasy region. She grew up with her grandmother and grandfather, who from an early age instilled in her a love for her native land, the Ukrainian language, and culture. 

Anna signed her first contract in the summer of 2019. Her decision to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was a thoughtful one, as she was raising her six-year-old daughter on her own and needed to support her.
“Many people romanticize war. At that time, the idea of becoming a rear-service soldier seemed very appealing to me. The rose-colored glasses came off almost immediately when I arrived at the training center in Starychi, where there was intense physical exertion and tests of stress resistance. At first, I thought about leaving everything and going home, but I endured it all—for the sake of my child and our financial stability. By the way, to this day, there are many girls like me in the military,” the young woman admits.

Anna received the call sign “Haechka” near Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, when she, along with two comrades, was inspecting positions to gather requests for necessary supplies from the assault troops.
“I always sat in the front seat of the ‘Vito’ van, right in the middle between the guys. Once, one of the fighters at the position said that there were two screws on the sides, and I was like the little wrench between them that holds everything together. That’s how the nickname stuck—Haechka, the one who gets everything done, not afraid to approach the commanders. There’s no one like that in any other company!” Anna recalls with a smile.

The full-scale invasion caught Haechka and her young daughter in a rented apartment in the city of Dnipro, not far from the airport. The family experienced the full horror of the first days of russia’s war against Ukraine. 
“No water, the elevator wasn’t working, the whole building shook from the explosions... The fear—both mine and my daughter’s—was overwhelming! When I realized it wouldn’t end quickly, I packed our things and tried to get to Cherkasy. But with trains and buses completely overloaded, we were only able to leave in March thanks to friends who came for us and took us to relatives in the Cherkasy region,” Anna says with sadness.

According to Anna, after her first contract she was certain she would never return to the army. However, fate had other plans: civic activism, the fight for prisoners of war, volunteer work, and genuine patriotism once again led her back to the military.
“In February 2022, my friend—commander of one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine—was trapped in Mariupol, which had been blockaded by Russian occupiers. Even then, he understood that no soldier would be allowed to leave the encircled city on their own. Knowing my temperament and stubbornness, Buyan (call sign changed for security reasons, as the defender is still in Russian captivity – ed.) sent me the contact details of the relatives of his subordinates, asking me to unite them into one group to share updates and news about what was happening in Mariupol, and later — directly from Azovstal. When Buyan’s unit almost entirely left the plant and surrendered into captivity, I brought together active family members around our shared grief. We took to the streets with protests to draw attention to the catastrophic situation surrounding Ukrainian POWs. I coordinated relatives’ efforts to search for and process information about the guys, formed groups for meetings with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the Ukrainian Ombudsman’s Office, and maintained contact with the command of the military unit where my friend had served. In that constant rhythm of anxiety and stress, of repetitive actions that didn’t bring the desired results, I burned out completely — and decided to go to the front, to directly influence the situation from within. I came at it from another angle, so to speak!” the young woman says with a laugh.

Indeed, 2024 brought Anna Tereshchenko back to the army once again. The defender shares that, when returning to service, she was fully aware of the risks and what might await her in the realities of today’s full-scale war.

“Vovchansk — that was fear! I saw things I wouldn’t wish on anyone: death, suffering, severely wounded soldiers, mutilated bodies we couldn’t even retrieve from the battlefield... But at the same time, I saw another side of life. The guys in my company constantly supported one another, didn’t let anyone sink into despair, and helped shift our focus from war to finding joy in everyday little things. Later, under tight secrecy, we were relocated to the Sumy region and ordered to find shelter close to the border with Russia’s Kursk region. We ended up living just 7 kilometers from the border in an old house with no electricity, no water, and no windows—only sparrow and swallow nests, because that place had been their home,” Haechka cheerfully recalls her move to the new location.

“And after that, things were no longer so cheerful. We were told that we weren’t there for defense—but for assault. An incredibly intense training began in all areas: weapons, equipment, extended missions deep into enemy territory. Everyone was involved. We ate little, slept even less, and before every deployment, we understood clearly—someone might not come back. Fortunately, death passed our company by. There were only injuries and concussions.” 
In winter, our unit was split into two directions—some stayed in the Kursk region, while others had to go defend Pokrovsk. That’s how I ended up in Donetsk. It’s the most difficult and stressful front for me; I’ve never seen so many deaths in my life,” Anna recalls with sadness in her eyes.

Today, Anna Tereshchenko, serving with the 33rd Separate Assault Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, alongside her comrades and sisters-in-arms, once again defends the borders of our country on the Sumy front—and dreams of the Great Victory that will surely come!