Olena Rybalko — the oldest resident of Ukraine, who survived the Holodomor, was a UPA communicator, and dedicated her entire life to medicine — died in Lviv at the age of 109.
This was reported by the Lviv City Council.
Olena Rybalko was born on June 2, 1917 in Vinnytsia, where she received a medical education. Her father Kyrylo was a soldier of the Ukrainian Peopleʼs Republic and the founder of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. In 1937, he was shot by NKVD.
The womanʼs mother is the last of the Ukrainian branch of the Potocki Counts — she died during World War II.
Olena Rybalko survived the Holodomor of 1932-1933. While working as a doctor, she helped wounded insurgents. She was also the head physician of the Pustomytsky District Hospital. She retired at the age of 89.
The woman will be buried today, October 12, in the family grave at the Yaniv Cemetery in Lviv.
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