ISTANBUL

Nine months ago, the photo of a Ukrainian woman captured by Anadolu Agency made headlines in international media, highlighted as a poignant symbol of Ukraine's plight against Russia's "special military operation."

The photo was taken by Anadolu Agency photojournalist Wolfgang Schwan in the city of Chuhuiv in eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region a day after Russia announced its "operation" against the country.

Many international newspapers, including Britain's The Guardian, The Times of London, The Sun, The Independent, and German daily Bild, used the photo on their front pages and was used by many other international news channels, especially CNN and BBC.

Nine months later, Kurilo and Schwan discussed what happened in February and the current situation in Ukraine in an exclusive interview.

'It didn't happen just by accident'

Re-calling the rocket hitting the residential building she lived in, Kurilo noted that she had dust and glass in her eyes due to the blast and needed surgery as soon as possible.

"I needed surgery and clinics in Ukraine could not take me, but thanks to British journalists and newspapers, I managed to get to Poland and I had three surgeries… I will also enter surgery here (London), and there is the possibility of me regaining my eyesight to up to 50 percent," Kurilo said.
Kurilo further underlined that her situation did not happen by accident and that she now has a mission to help people and Ukraine.

"It just happened that I became a face of the Ukrainian war, but I understood that it didn't happen just by accident. I understood that this was on purpose and that I had a mission. My mission now is to help people. It's true that I speak mainly about Ukraine because I understand that now my duty is also to help Ukraine's victory and help my country and I use my voice as much as I can," she indicated.

Kurilo further said that she was shocked when Russian media sources claimed that what happened to her was not true and alleged that she was "an actress and that the picture was from five years ago."

"At the very beginning, I was shocked, but then I just started to smile seeing all these things. They were saying I was an officer. They were trying to find and use pictures of other women, but they did not look like me. When I was called for an interview, after Russian propaganda said that I was captured and I admitted being an officer, we did a story on that to clarify the situation," she added.

'Priorities changed'

Kurilo emphasized that her priorities have changed and that people who were once close to them have become distant.

"Because they were not supporting us. They were many Ukrainians in Russia or people who had relatives, and somehow we happened to be on two different sides," she further said.

"But I hope that one day that they will understand what is important in life. And that is life itself and freedom," she added.

Indicating that her life has changed completely after the war, Kurilo also said she never thought that something like this could happen and that these kinds of events also change "other things."

"Before, you had different values, such as family and work. Now my priorities have changed a lot. What I put first is human beings, support and human life," Kurilo noted.

'It started'

Prior to the invasion, Kurilo expressed that she understood that Putin was not joking with regards to invading Ukraine as she followed the news, but that she never believed it would happen.

"The day when I actually heard the bombings, my words were: 'It has started.' To the very end, we wanted to believe that this was just a bad dream, and we couldn't believe that something like this could happen in the 21st century in Europe," Kurilo said as Russia began its "special military operation."

Complementary to this, she noted that she had "absolutely no doubt" that Ukraine would win the war from "the very first minute of the invasion," attributing the motivation and "unbreakable spirit of the Ukrainian people" as the reason.

Commenting on the situation today, Kurilo also underlined that Ukraine is "standing between Putin and Europe."

"Only if we win, then Putin will not go further because he will not have the resources to do so. This victory is important for everyone, and I believe people understand this. Our victory against Putin will be the victory of the whole world," Kurilo said.

"A lot also depends on our partners who are supporting us. We surely need more weapons to fight. The more weapons we get, the sooner we will reach victory and the faster peace will come to our lands," she added.

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'My mission now is to help people. I will use my voice as much as I can'