They survived Azovstal and Russian captivity: Mariupol defender proposes to his combat medic girlfriend

Before a Shakhtar match, serviceman Myroslav proposed to combat medic Elina Medynina. Both took part in the battles for Mariupol, were at Azovstal, and endured Russian captivity.

Source: FC Shakhtar

Details: On Sunday 15 March, a Ukrainian Premier League match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 Kharkiv took place at Arena Lviv. Combat medic Elina Medynina was invited to perform the ceremonial first kick.

"I had red hair and a dream to open a Shakhtar match. Dreams come true," Elina shared.

After the first kick, her partner, Ukrainian defender Myroslav who goes by the alias Chicago, came onto the pitch. He was holding a bouquet of red roses and a shirt reading "Marry me".

He proposed to her, and she replied: "Yes."

"I was worried that nothing would go wrong, that everything would work out, that I wouldn't be late and that everything would go according to plan," Myroslav said.

Both Elina and Chicago defended Mariupol at the start of the full-scale invasion. At the time, Elina Medynina served as a combat medic with the Donetsk Border Guard Detachment and, together with Myroslav, was at Azovstal.

They were later taken into Russian captivity. Elina spent nearly five months there – she was returned home on 17 October 2022. She is now a senior lieutenant of the Medical Service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Background: On 5-6 March 2026, another prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia took place in a 500-for-500 format in two stages: 200 prisoners of war were brought home on 5 March and another 300 on 6 March.

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