Heroes of Ukraine. Inna Korolenko: how music therapist became soldier

Espreso TV tells the story of the servicewoman.

Inna Korolenko is a soldier of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The woman has been in the army since April this year, although she started working with the military men in 2016. She volunteered in a military hospital in Lviv for several years. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she joined the army because she wanted to protect her family, join the Ukrainian resistance and bring Ukraine’s victory closer.

"I am from Odesa," says Inna Korolenko. "I came to Lviv to study and stayed there. On February 24, I woke up to the sounds of an air raid alert and tried to call my family in Odesa. Only in the evening of that day I did manage to get in contact with them. Odesa at that time was already under attack. I was extremely scared when I couldn't contact my relatives. That was part of the reason why I'd made a decision to join the army. When you don't know what's going on with your family, you're unsure about the future...All these feelings led me to join the army. I went to the recruitment office and signed the documents - that’s when i finally calmed down. I found a place where I feel at ease, where I know that I am doing something useful for my country, for victory and for my people."

“Most of all, I want Ukraine to win the war, so I can return home, hug my friends and family, and tell everyone that all of that is in the past.”

When Inna realized that she could no longer just watch the news, she joined the ranks of volunteers (at volunteer formations of territorial communities). “I was appointed as a communicator since I was savvy in networks of various kinds.” She underwent training, went to the training ground, learned to shoot, march, launch drones, and so on. After a while, she saw an announcement that there was a position of chief lieutenant in one of the Armed Forces brigades.

"I had a day to think. I decided to submit the documents," continues Inna. "That's how I got into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But I wasn't hired as a chief lieutenant because I didn't have a completed military education and rank. So I became just a soldier."

The woman became part of  the 125th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces in Lviv. However, later she was appointed to another city in the Western Ukraine, where she was appointed to protect objects [of strategic importance].

"There are brigades that do not recruit women because of certain beliefs," Inna notes. "I respect these beliefs, but women have such a mindset that could be useful in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I have served in two brigades and I have never had any problems with ordinary soldiers. Now I'm waiting to be transferred to another brigade, to perform combat tasks on the battlefield. I came to the army not to sit in the rear, not just to wear a uniform, but with a specific purpose. “Most of all, I want Ukraine to win the war, so I can return home, hug my friends and family, tell everyone that all of that is in the past, and return to my civilian profession."

She took a husli and two small drums with her to the military

In civilian life, Inna worked with children. She was a music therapist. Although she graduated from the faculty of international relations, it did not work out for her. She found herself in psychology. Children would come to her office, choose an instrument and learn to play it. She currently has 40 instruments in her arsenal. Inna has carried her music over to the army and uses it to help her brother-in-arms.

"I got my 41st instrument - a kind of traditional Slavic hard, known as husli - already being in the army," says Inna. She found it at some auction. “When I took it from the post office, the guys looked shocked, they couldn't understand what it was. But later I learned how to play it, and the boys would sing along."

Inna is convinced that music is important in the army, because it helps to relax, let go all the negative feelings, and switch to positive thoughts.

"And live music is even better," the woman emphasizes. "I always teach in my workshops that sound is a wave. We feel how music affects us. Especially our folk music. It is the best. For example, the best examples of the influence music has on us happened in the hospital when I was volunteering. I would play guitar in the park, and even the doctors would join in. They would listen at first, and after a few songs start to sing along."

Now the woman is waiting to be transferred to a combat brigade. She wants to bring Ukraine’s victory closer. During those months in the army, she got used to military realities. But after the war ends, she wants to return to her previous profession.

"In civilian life, you are free and can do whatever you want," says Inna Korolenko. "You don't have to ask anyone for permission. And when you are a soldier, especially a private, you have clear instructions on how to act, how to walk, how to talk."  The first months were difficult. It was hard to grasp that I was in the army. But gradually I have found balance. Now it is much easier."

Espreso TV continues its series of stories about Heroes of Ukraine who have been defending and are currently defending Ukraine from Russian invaders. Read more stories in our column of the same name "Heroes of Ukraine".