Queen of the Roads Halyna Almazova: “Half of the wounded in our battalion owe to PFVMH their saved lives”

Halyna Almazova was preparing to participate in the Dakar Rally two years ago. The team had already been selected, and the car was ready. They planned to present the team in early March 2022. However, at that time, “Viterets” (“Wind” in Ukrainian) was already busy with other matters — saving lives, as mentioned in a detailed interview with Halyna by Ukrainska Pravda.

Once, a soldier told her: “Halyna, if you drive more than 120 kilometers per hour, a sniper’s bullet won’t catch you.”

In 2016, at a competition in Poland, Almazova was titled the “Queen of the Roads.” An analogy with “Highway Star” — the famous hit by Deep Purple — comes to mind. Indeed, there is something in common between the song and the sportswoman — drive, an immense energy level. After all, Halyna Almazova is not only a Master of Sports in rally but also an entrepreneur, volunteer, paramedic, senior lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a participant in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Among her awards are the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree and “People’s Hero of Ukraine.”

During the war, “Viterets” launched her own volunteer project, evacuating hundreds of wounded from the battlefield. She joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and became the deputy commander of the special forces battalion “Wild Field,” assisted by the Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital during battles in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. After completing her service, she joined PFVMH — in February 2024, she became its vice president.

“If we take our battalion, then about half of the wounded owe to PFVMH their saved lives,” explains Almazova.

Read the interview on the UP website.