Oksana Pasichko is a woman who is difficult to fit into one definition. An athlete and a rugby player, a biker and a horse rider, a scout and a machine gunner, a drone pilot and a group sergeant major. She says about herself simply: “While others are preparing for a date, I’m preparing to head to the front line,” she adds, adding that she is the first of her kind to ride a motorcycle and a car, ride horses, and fly drones and boats. And she doesn’t do all this because she wants to surprise anyone – she just always goes where his heart calls.
Oksana is a living answer to the question, “Can a woman do it?” Can control a drone. Can hold a machine gun. can be the first of her kind and still remain herself. We created this award specifically for stories like these: not loud, not made-up, but real. Those that change not only public perceptions, but also reality itself. Oksana does not destroy stereotypes with words – she destroys them every day with her decisions and actions, showing by her example that gender frameworks do not exist in reality—they only exist in the mind. That is why this award is hers,” notes Oksana Nechyporenko, co-founder of the Masha Foundation.
Oksana is a player of Lviv’s “Levytsi”, where she plays as an attacker. Rugby 7s is about running fast, falling hard, getting up right away, and doing it with your team, without complaints or excuses. In 2023, for the first time in the club’s history, Levytsi won both the championship and the Cup of Ukraine.
When the full-scale invasion began, Oksana returned from Poland, where she was working at the time, and tried to mobilize. After the refusal, she returned to work, but after her work contract ended, she still joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In November 2023, she took an oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people.
Her Mom didn’t know about her service for a long time. Initially, Oksana was a medic; later, she became a scout in the 74th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, one of the most experienced reconnaissance units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which participated in the battles for Ilovaisk, Maryinka, Donetsk Airport, Avdiivka, and Pisky.
Today, Oksana is the senior sergeant of the group, serving as both a machine gunner and a drone pilot. A machine gun provides fire support and protection of positions in direct contact; drones provide reconnaissance, fire adjustment, and target engagement at a distance; and together they provide the full spectrum of the modern battlefield. Oksana fights, trains every day, works on herself, and speaks openly: “No one will end this war except us.”
“ It is an incredible honor for me to stand on this stage in such a nomination. Now I feel even greater responsibility. This evening was a breath of fresh air for me; it made me feel like I had blossomed—these emotions will remain in my memory for a long time,” Oksana Pasichko shares her impressions of the award.
UP100. Women Power 2026 celebrates 100 women who are shaping modern Ukraine: in the military, business, culture, science, the public sector, and international advocacy, and also combines honoring women leaders, public speeches, panel discussions, and international appeals, creating a platform for dialogue about the role of women in the transformation of the country during the war and in the reconstruction process.
The Masha Foundation is a Ukrainian organization created to support women who have suffered from gender-based violence, and since 2022, it has been providing assistance to women and children affected by war. Its goals are rehabilitation, mental recovery, education, and building community resilience.
Since 2022, the organization has reached tens of thousands of women and children across Ukraine—in particular, more than 4,000 women and children have undergone rehabilitation programs as part of the Unbreakable Mom project. About 3,000 received psychological assistance at the Nezlamna center. Over 12,000 teenage girls learned how to combat violence! By combining the physical and psychological self-defense approach, they build their physical and mental defense! They learned to defend themselves! And a special honor is the Masha Foundation’s award for overcoming gender stereotypes.
