American journalist who enlisted in Ukrainian military wounded
Transgender journalist Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was wounded on the Donbas front line on February 23, the Washington Blade reports.
According to Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, part of the artillery shell hit her in the head and right hand while her unit, the 209th Battalion of the 113th Brigade, was on the frontlines in the Donbas region.
“I was hit this morning (February 23 – Ed.),” she wrote in a tweet. “My injuries are permanent. I’ve lost part of my hand and have scarring on my face.”
A video that Ashton-Cirillo posted to Twitter shows a fellow soldier bandaging her hand. Explosions can be heard in the distance as Ashton-Cirillo speaks. “They can’t kill us. They can’t hurt us. Victory is ours. It doesn’t fucking matter. Why? Because we’re Ukraine,” she said. “Ultimately Putin is going to be the one dead … and this is the small price for liberation and freedom. Slava Ukraini! ”
Ashton-Cirillo enlisted in the Ukrainian military after she covered it.
“I want to serve this fight for freedom, this fight for liberty, this fight for all of us,” she told the Blade last December while she was in D.C. to speak with lawmakers on behalf of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry about continued support for Ukraine.
Ashton-Cirillo on Wednesday sent the Blade pictures of her “from the trenches” where she and her unit are fighting.
I was hit this morning.
My injuries are permanent.
I've lost part of my hand and have scarring on my face.
We won the battle, though.
And here was my message in the immediate aftermath. pic.twitter.com/2mXFTQ3Cak
— Sarah Ashton-Cirillo (@SarahAshtonLV) February 23, 2023
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