Donbass. Girl on fire

In 2015, Yulia Mikhailova was on a bus in Donetsk when it was hit by a Ukrainian shell. The young woman lost an arm and a leg in the blast. Seven years later, a Ukrainian missile took the life of her best friend, Maria Pirogova, a singer and volunteer. Despite these hard losses, Yulia has not lost her spirit. In this film, she explains how, by overcoming physical pain and emotional wounds, she found the strength not only to live but to help others. Besides volunteering, Maria has become a deputy in the Donetsk People’s Republic’s Council and even won several beauty pageants.

How does someone who has endured the horrors of war and lost everything near and dear to them find the strength to carry on? What drives her to reach out and help others?

Watch “Donbass. Firl on fire” on RTD website and on RT’s live feed. The time of the broadcast is available on RT’s schedule page.