The oldest Ukrainian woman died at 109. She survived the Holodomor and saved UPA fighters
Olena Rybalka, the oldest resident of Ukraine, died in her 110th year of life. Olena Rybalka dedicated her entire life to medicine and was a liaison for the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), writes 'Ukrainska Pravda'.
Olena Rybalka was born on June 2, 1917. The woman was originally from Vinnytsia Oblast – there she received her medical education. Her husband, Ananiy Nyauzhoda, also worked as a medic. The couple raised two children.
Olena Rybalka witnessed the cruelty of the Soviet regime firsthand and survived the Holodomor of 1932-1933.
«In 1933, the harvest was completely normal. But people went everywhere with metal pikes, searching for hidden grain. Everyone was taken by carts to a common grave in the cemetery. They were all thrown in there and buried daily. This went on for a long time, until perhaps only a third remained, and even less than that. At that time, I was studying at a medical college, and we were given 200g of bread. And we had to stand in line all night. We stood – each of us had a number written on our hand,» Olena shared her memories of the Holodomor.
After World War II, Olena moved to Lviv by assignment and worked in a hospital.
The woman secretly delivered medicines to the underground and treated wounded insurgents.
In addition, to protect repressed Ukrainians from repeated exile, the woman issued them fictitious medical certificates.
Olena's relatives set up a 'kryivka' (hideout) – there, in the post-war period, her brother Mykhailo Rybalka, a regional leader of the OUN, was hiding.
Olena's father, Kyrylo Rybalka, was a soldier of the Ukrainian People's Republic army and one of the founders of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. For this, he was shot in 1937.
And her mother – the last representative of the Potocki counts' lineage – died during World War II.
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