Kateryna Tkachenko
Wife of a servicemember
Kateryna Tkachenko, Deputy Director of the Young Theater, is originally from Donetsk. In the summer of 2014, her father took the family to relatives in Berdyansk — supposedly for a vacation by the sea — and later to Kyiv. The move was forced; they had to rebuild their lives from scratch.
“My dad didn’t say there would be a war, but he already suspected something. He told me that staying in Donetsk was dangerous — that something bad was happening. At the time, I didn’t understand; the realization came later…”
Kateryna secured a state-funded spot as an internally displaced person (IDP) and enrolled in Kyiv National Aviation University to study marketing. After relocating, she experienced deep depression, grief, and a sense of lost footing. Over time, friendships, a theater studio, and supportive people helped her adjust and start anew.
She and her future husband, Ihor, first worked on a charity performance at the Youth Theater, organized together with the ART POMICH Foundation. The funds raised were donated to support children with cancer at Okhmatdyt. Ihor worked as an assistant director backstage, while Kateryna was the administrator. They didn’t meet in person at the time. Later, Ihor found Kateryna on social media and sent her a message. On the night of December 31 to January 1, he called for the first time — his well-trained announcer voice inviting her on a date. By their second meeting, he confidently told her she would be his wife. And that’s how it happened.
“It was fascinating just the two of us; we could talk about everything. I had never seen anyone look at me with such admiration. It was incredibly romantic — and it won me over.”
They married in 2019. Both worked in theater, shared friends, interests, and social circles.
In 2022, Ihor volunteered for the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Zakarpattia Brigade and later became acting head of the press service. Kateryna recalls: “It was very hard for me, and I didn’t know what would happen. But if this was the choice he made for himself, I had no option but to support him.” From that moment, their life resembled that of thousands of others during the war: video calls, waiting for messages, trips to see him, and just a few days of leave.
Both of them changed. According to Kateryna, Ihor matured and grew stronger, and she became significantly more independent — often taking on “men’s” work. Numerous small and large decisions gradually transformed her once lighthearted and carefree character.
«I try to adapt because we are now two different, ‘new’ people. We grow in different worlds: I — in civilian life, he — in the military. And no matter how hard it is, especially when it comes to understanding each other, we try to change what’s within our control and preserve the most important thing — our family.».
Over four years of war, the couple has gone through many stages. Kateryna describes her current state:
«My life now feels like it’s in waiting mode — I wait for him at home. Before the full-scale war, we wanted children, but now I feel two Katerynas inside me. One wants to wait for my husband and go through pregnancy, childbirth, and raising children together. The other realizes the war may last a long time — and life can’t be postponed. You have to live now: build a family nest, have children, start your own business. Because who knows when ‘later’ will come? We recently discussed this with Ihor and decided: live NOW and postpone nothing — because there may not be a ‘later’…».