Ukrainian Playboy Honors Women War Survivors: ‘We Are Alive’

Beautiful women, wearing white nightgowns or bright red dresses, were photographed for the Ukrainian edition of Playboy. The aim is to show the world how war can scar them both mentally and physically, yet they remain alive and strong. While the famous magazine typically focuses on female sensuality, the Ukrainian version took a different tone by highlighting the scars and prosthetic limbs of women who lived through the war. Three years after the bloody and deadly conflict in their country, this special issue titled ‘Beauty with Scars’ celebrates the courage and strength these women have found. The cover features Anastasia Savka, a former sniper of the 118th Brigade of the Ukrainian army, awarded with UP100-Power of Women. Known as ‘Phoenix,’ she was severely injured by a mine in November 2023 in Zaporizhia and lost her leg. Two years later, she continues to live life with a prosthetic limb, alongside her fiancé, also a war veteran. Inside the pages, Yanna Zalevskaya, a former drone operator and combat responder injured in a Russian attack in the summer of 2024, poses along with Kristina Sanyina, a captain and mother who became the first woman in Ukraine to undergo prosthetic surgery with bone integration after losing both legs. Everyday heroines who may not have fought on the front lines but battle daily for survival and healing are also featured, including Olga Diallyuk, an entrepreneur and mother injured in a Russian missile attack in 2022 and later losing her husband. Nadiya Osiuta, an influencer and mother who suffered severe burns alongside her daughter during a helicopter crash carrying the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Brovary, is another model in this issue. ‘Beauty does not disappear with an injury,’ is the central message of the magazine. ‘The power to live, persevere, and love again is the new form of beauty.’ ‘We are alive, that matters. This tragedy did not break me. I showed my daughter that everything will be okay,’ says Nadiya, reflecting on the horror of the war she experienced and continues to live through. Ukrainian Playboy decided this month to break stereotypes and use its global influence to highlight that beauty is deep, brave, and above all, human.