Yana Rudenko (; born 1999) is a Ukrainian

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, and survivor of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. Her work focuses on promoting

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

, accountability for

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

, and

cultural awareness Cultural sensitivity, also referred to as cross-cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness, is the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others' cultural identities. It is related to cultural competence (the skills needed fo ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

Early life and education

Rudenko was born and raised in

Cherkasy Oblast Cherkasy Oblast (, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna (, ) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central Ukraine located along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The Capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the cit ...

, Ukraine. She pursued a bachelor's degree in economics and management at

Lviv Polytechnic Lviv Polytechnic National University () is a public university in Lviv, Ukraine, founded in 1816. According to the Times Higher Education, as of 2024, it ranks first as a technical institution of higher education and second among all instit ...

. During the initial stages of the 2022 Russian invasion, she was in Bucha, where she experienced weeks under Russian occupation, witnessing war crimes and enduring harsh conditions without basic necessities.

Career and activism

In mid-2022, in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rudenko relocated to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

as a refugee. Her experiences shaped her decision to study

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

Campus The Hague Campus The Hague is an institution for university education and scientific research, a part of Leiden University, located in The Hague. The teaching and research at Campus The Hague focuses on politics, public administration and international law ...

to contribute to global peace and justice. She has spoken at international events, including the Cleveringa Meeting in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, where she shared her personal experiences and highlighted the importance of accountability for Russia's aggression. Yana Rudenko is the founder and president of the Adriatic-Baltic-Black-Azov (ABBA) Student Association. ABBA aims to foster understanding of Eastern European cultures and politics while addressing the ongoing effects of the

Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. Events organized by ABBA include a Q&A session with Crimean Tatar leader

Refat Chubarov Refat Abdurahman oglu Chubarov (born 22 September 1957) is a Crimean politician and public figure, leader of the Crimean Tatar national movement in Ukraine and worldwide. Biography Chubarov was born on 22 September 1957 in Samarkand, Uzbek S ...

. Ms. Rudenko is also a co-founder of the DroneAid Collective, an initiative based in the Netherlands that engages displaced Ukrainians and rehabilitating

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s in building drones for use by the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

. Through workshops held in cities across the Netherlands, participants learn technical skills such as electronics and soldering while assembling drones used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence missions. In the first year of its existence, the initiative has raised over €150,000 in funds and produced almost 300 drones and plays a dual role in supporting Ukraine's defence efforts and fostering the rehabilitation of participants. DroneAid Collective collaborates with the nonprofit Eyes on Ukraine, which supplies drones and other humanitarian resources to the frontlines of the conflict. On 13 May 2024 Rudenko participated, as one of the ten winners of the NATO Summit Challenge, in the fourth NATO Youth Summit, which was held in Stockholm. Rudenko graduated in 2024.

Social media and advocacy

Rudenko uses

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

to raise awareness of war crimes and combat misinformation. She has organised fundraising campaigns, raising more than €8,000 for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Her activism also highlights the oppression of minority groups, such as

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

and

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

, and the need for global accountability against aggression. Yana Rudenko's work has been recognised for its contributions to raising awareness about the effects of war and the importance of justice. She continues to advocate for global solidarity and cultural understanding through her academic and activist efforts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudenko Yana Living people Ukrainian women activists People from The Hague Leiden University alumni Lviv Polytechnic alumni