Ukrainian paramedic and volunteer Yuliia “Taira” Paievska became a laureate of the International Women of Courage (IWOC) award presented by the US State Department, the US State Department reports.

"Yuliia “Taira” Paievska has demonstrated extraordinary moral and physical courage in defending Ukraine against relentless Russian aggression. She provided medical treatment to Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity protestors in 2013, and as head of Taira’s Angels, a volunteer unit of paramedics, she provided tactical medical training on the Donbas front lines from 2014 to 2018. Mrs. Paievska is best known for her work secretly filming and smuggling out videos documenting atrocities committed by Russia’s forces in Mariupol," the release said.

The award ceremony will be held by US Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken and First Lady Jill Biden on March 8 at the White House. It will be broadcast live on whitehouse.gov/live and state.gov.

"Russia’s forces detained Mrs. Paievska on March 16 as she attempted to evacuate women and children from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, despite her clear non-combatant status. During a three-month imprisonment, Mrs. Paievska lived in a tiny cell with 22 other women, losing 20 pounds and enduring torture and beatings. Moreover, the Kremlin’s propagandists falsely maligned her internationally as a fascist and war criminal. Yet Mrs. Paievska refused to be silenced, and since her release has compellingly advocated for Ukrainian democracy and independence both at home and abroad." the release said.

On March 16, 2022, the Russian military detained Paievska during an attempt to evacuate women and children from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia.

On June 17, 2022, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced the release of Paievska from captivity.