Diana Horun, 23, killed in Russian drone strike while serving as combat medic

Diana Horun, a 23-year-old Ukrainian senior combat medic known by the call sign Marena, has been killed in a Russian drone strike in Donetsk Oblast. Her death was reported by Hnizdychiv hromada, the community in Lviv Oblast where she was born. She was serving in the armed forces under contract.

Horun was born in 2003 in the village of Hnizdychiv. Her military role was senior combat medic with a strike UAV company. The account of her death described a young servicewoman whose work centred on saving Ukrainian soldiers and helping those serving alongside her.

In its tribute, the community described her decision to join the defence of Ukraine as a courageous acceptance of a difficult and dangerous responsibility. It said she had chosen to stand beside people who encountered danger every day, taking an active role in defending her homeland.

The community also linked her service to the protection of Ukraine's freedom and independence. Its statement described saving soldiers' lives and assisting her fellow service members as her calling, saying that her choice reflected courage, strength of spirit and a generous heart.

Tributes from soldiers who knew Horun focused both on her abilities as a medic and on the person they had lost. One woman who served alongside her wrote on Threads that Horun was the best medic she had known. She also said that they were already avenging her death and would remember her.

Another fellow soldier remembered Horun as ambitious and as someone with a beautiful soul. In his tribute, he acknowledged that she had experienced difficulties in her life, but said those experiences had not taken away the hope and positivity she carried and shared sincerely with others.

His recollections included their conversations about philosophy as well as ordinary, everyday matters. He wrote that he would miss those exchanges and her laughter. The tribute added a personal account of Horun's friendship to the community's description of her commitment to caring for fellow soldiers.

The report of Horun's death also noted the recent loss of poet and soldier Oleksii Dehtiarov, who was killed in action. The source provided no further details about his death.