A picture of courage: injured Ukrainian mother appears on the cover of Playboy after months of treatment and reconstructive surgery
- Iryna Bilotserkovets poses in a metal bikini and eye patch on the front
- She was caught in a gun attack in Kiev last year, three days after the Russian invasion
The wife of a Ukrainian politician who survived a suspected assassination attempt is now the face of the first Playboy edition to be printed in the country since the outbreak of war.
Iryna Bilotserkovets poses in a metal bikini and eye patch on the cover of the latest issue.
The model and TV presenter whose husband is an assistant to Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko underwent months of emergency treatment and reconstructive surgery after she was caught in a gun attack with her children just three days after the Russian invasion on Feb. 26. year.
She has since become a symbol of resistance in Ukraine after the attack.
Mrs. Bilotserkovets was treated in a hospital in Berlin. Speaking to the magazine about the first time she saw herself in a mirror after treatment, she said: “There’s an eye missing, tubes sticking out everywhere, hair shaved off after surgery.
Iryna Bilotserkovets poses in a metal bikini and eye patch on the cover of the latest issue
The model and TV presenter whose husband is an assistant to Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko underwent emergency treatment and reconstructive surgery for months after she was caught in a gun attack with her children just three days after the Russian invasion on Feb. 26. year.
‘Stitches, scars, wounds everywhere; I was just Frankenstein’s monster. My jaw was shattered, like a twig.
“I don’t have a pretty face anymore, but the rest of my body is pretty.”
She is now working with the cultural forces of Ukraine to organize events for troops.
Ms. Bilotserkovets was driving home with her three children through a wealthy Kiev neighborhood when she was hit by bullets.
She had to undergo four surgeries and was left with a missing eye, a broken jaw and scars all over her body. She added, “It wasn’t about preserving my beauty; it was a question of whether I should live or not.
“Doctors in Ukraine said I was probably going to die. I didn’t agree.’
Playboy Ukraine said in a statement that the model was a heroine in the “Women Stay Strong” edition, which looks at the “resilience of Ukrainian women who were injured during the war but have not lost their thirst for life.”
Since Russia launched its invasion last year, Ukrainian Playboy has only produced online editions, and this version was the first to go to print in more than 18 months.