Arrived as a journalist at the start of the war in Ukraine, then integrated as a first aid worker in the 113th defense brigade of Kharkiv, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo is a transgender woman, wounded in combat and who has become a symbol of everything that Putin’s Russia loathes in West.
Since her integration into the 113th defense brigade of Kharkiv and after weeks of training, Sarah has been living in trenches, as close as possible to enemy positions. “I was hired as a first aider. On the front line, there is no one between us and the Russians”, she explains. Hated by the Russian media, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo arrived at the start of the war in Ukraine as a journalist for an LGBTQI+ magazine. This American transgender woman is now fighting with Ukrainian soldiers. But on February 22, she was hit by shrapnel. The one who has become a symbol of the fight for freedom of expression and tolerance has since been released from the hospital.
Described as “a creature” by Russian TV
“Sarah, How’s it going ?”, can we hear in a video posted on Twitter. She recounts there, a few minutes after the impact, her first war injury. “It’s okay, sir. And you know what? They can’t kill us. Glory to Ukraine!”. Sarah recalls the moment she was injured: “The Russians were attacking us on the front line, and in those situations the rate of shellfire increases. And then I was like ‘wow, that exploded right next to it’. J I turned my hand, a piece had been torn off.”
“When we decided to publish the video, we thought of it as a provocation”, continues the American. “We were sure the Russians were going to see her because they watch everything I do. I wanted to let them know that they had a chance to kill me and they didn’t take it.” A successful bet: Russian national television seized the subject a few days later, calling Sarah a “creature”. “It’s hard to believe, but today the LGBTQI+ world came to Bakhmout, with the injury of American transgender mercenary, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo”said the Russian presenter on television.
“I represent the idea that anything is possible when you live in a liberal democracy. Russia is afraid of that.”
Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, a transgender woman fighting in Ukraineat franceinfo
Because Sarah is now more than a fighter, she is a symbol of everything that Putin’s Russia abhors in the West. “I’m transgender, which is a big deal for them. I’m outspoken and I don’t look like a normal soldier,” launches the transgender woman. “This war is a battle for the freedom of all. Opposite, they defend tyranny and slavery.” Sarah Ashton-Cirillo’s fight continues in the media, on social networks and of course in the trenches. She signed a three-year contract with the Ukrainian army and has just been promoted to sergeant.
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