Médecins Sans Frontières - ENG Viktoriia portrait WEBCLIP

Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF359646

Date taken / Date Recorded 03/03/2026 1:29 PM

Country Ukraine

Copyright MSF

Usage Rights (MSF) Advertising Campaign, External Media, MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available no

Editor's rating ★★★ (F)

Video format h264 (Main) (avc1 / 0x31637661)

Duration 1m45s

Maximum Size 1080px × 1920px 491.49 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist Viktoriia Muliarova, psychologist at the Early Rehabilitation project in Cherkasy, Ukraine

Sometimes my working day begins with putting on makeup in the dark. Not as a metaphor – literally.

My everyday life requires constant internal readjustment. It is influenced by the reality in which I live and work – the reality of the war in Ukraine.

My work doesn’t take place in sterile conditions, but within the reality of war. Here, light, warmth, sleep and a sense of security can disappear at any moment. The basics are no longer in the background – they become valuable and fragile.

I accompany people in the early period of rehabilitation after severe injuries. People who have come close to death and are returning – to their bodies, to breathing, to life.

In this work, I am not only a professional. I am a constant presence, someone to confide in, a companion who stays when words are lacking.

Sometimes we speak. Sometimes we are silent. Sometimes the simplest things can heal – the opportunity to breathe in again.

I work through myself. My attention, my resilience, my ability to recover are part of my professional responsibility.

Taking care of myself here is not a choice, but a condition for survival and continuing to work. After all, hundreds of stories pass through me – stories that change you forever.

I don’t leave this reality. I remain in it. And together with my team, we help people meet the light again after the darkness – even if it has to be created from within.