Just over a year ago, Yulia Bondarenko’s days were full of lesson plans, grading and the hormones of her 12-to 13-year-old students.
When Russian missiles shattered that routine and Russian troops threatened her home in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Bondarenko, 30, volunteered to fight back, despite her lack of experience, the grave risk to her life and Ukraine’s apparently impossible odds.
“I never held a rifle in my hands and never even saw one up close,” said Bondarenko. “In the first two weeks, I felt like I was in a fog. It was just a constant nightmare.”
For weeks, she had followed the ominous news of Russian troops massing on Ukraine’s border and decided on February 23 to enlist as a reservist. The next day,
