Saving Lives in the “Kill Zone”
Each Donation Makes a Difference
In February, Mriya Aid had the honour of connecting a long-time Canadian supporter of Ukraine, Ms. Rosemary Scragg, with a National Police of Ukraine officer and EOD specialist, Ms. Oksana Pyshna. Through this connection, Mriya Aid helped provide Oksana with essential protective equipment - a helmet, body armour, and tactical boots - to support her life-saving demining work in southern Ukraine.
Rosemary, a retired teacher and artist, has supported Mriya Aid for several years. In early 2025, she joined more than 50 donors worldwide to fund 100 drone detection devices for deminers working in Ukraine’s most dangerous, UXO-contaminated areas. Moved to do more, she later organized an art exhibition of her work and generously donated the proceeds to support Ukrainian women working in demining.
Through our partners at the National Police of Ukraine (NPU)’s EOD and pyrotechnic (bomb disposal) teams, we learned that over 40 women are engaged by the NPU in this demanding field. Oksana is the only woman on a mobile EOD unit of eight specialists operating daily near Kherson in Southern Ukraine - often within 20 kilometres of Russian positions. The area has been described by journalists as a “kill zone,” where Russian drones target civilians, defenders, and responders alike. Yet people continue to live there, facing both aerial attacks, drone “safaris” through which Russians target anyone moving in the area, and deadly explosive remnants of war.
Before the full-scale invasion, Oksana worked as a police investigator in Skadovsk. After Russian occupation forced her evacuation in March 2022, she retrained as an explosives technician, completing EOD training in Zhytomyr and qualifying as an FPV drone operator. Since 2023, she has served in the Kherson police pyrotechnic unit, responding to 250–300 calls annually - many in active combat conditions.
‘My work gives me a deep sense of purpose, although it is extremely exhausting,” Oksana says. “Every deployment means someone’s life has been saved.”
She says the most difficult time in her work came during the early days of Kherson’s liberation in November 2022. Russian forces had mined administrative and residential buildings. People returning home would discover mines and tripwires hidden in refrigerators or disguised as toys. “We constantly heard about local residents being blown up. The most painful cases were those involving children,” she recalls.
Her work continues to be relentless and dangerous as Russian forces continue to deploy evolving weapons. Over the past year, Oksana has dealt with a wide range of explosive threats, including unexploded aerial bombs, North Korean cluster munitions, Smerch rockets, PFM ‘butterfly’ mines, and drone-dropped explosives - over 30% of which fail to detonate immediately. In February 2026, one of her colleagues lost several fingers after approaching a booby-trapped drone payload. Since 2023, 10 members of her 19-person unit have been killed on the job, and three members, including the unit commander, have suffered amputations.
“In 2023 we were mostly dealing with the remnants of heavy weapons such as S-300 missiles and Grad rockets. But Russian tactics are changing rapidly. New types of weapons appear, and their configurations are constantly evolving,” Oksana explains. Although as a police officer she operates according to humanitarian demining protocols, the situation often requires her team to apply all available expertise. In some cases, explosive devices must be destroyed immediately on site. It is dangerous work.
Despite this, Oksana remains committed and dreams of one day returning to her home. “There are many things in life worth fighting for and living for,” she says.
On March 13, she travelled to Florida to participate in an international EOD competition. Oksana is confident that Ukraine will liberate territories and citizens occupied, mined, and terrorized by Russia.
Rosemary’s initiative reminds us that individual action matters. As Edmund Burke wrote centuries ago, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Canadians like Rosemary are choosing to act.
Canada continues to support Ukraine, having provided nearly $90 million to mine action since 2022. Mriya Aid has contributed close to $5 million toward demining efforts, including training nearly 300 Ukrainian EOD specialists to international standards and equipping over 200 sappers. Since 2024, we have also supported National Police pyrotechnic units with advanced training and material support - and are now working to equip all 40 women deminers across Ukraine.
We invite our partners and supporters to continue to support Ukraine and those who risk their lives daily to save others, protect civilians, and defend our shared values.
Life prevails over death. Light wins over darkness.
