“At first I did not know how to talk to them. But then I just decided to act normal and not focus unnecessary attention on their lost limbs. I just came, we took pictures, and they asked me to make tiktoks with them,” Senyuk said.
The soldiers were thrilled.
“I am in no way a professional rehab specialist, I just come and talk to them, distract them, tell anecdotes about my profession, that is so interesting to them,” Senyuk said. “They shine after my visits, as I was told.”
Her stunt drew both attention and criticism.
Senyuk was attacked on social media by conservatives for the “immorality of her profession” and “trying to PR on soldiers” as well as the “objectification of a woman’s role” at war; it’s illegal to make pornography in Ukraine, which is why Senyuk works abroad.
Anton Ivantsiv, who lost both hands and a leg in the battle for Bakhmut, took part in the photo shoot and defended the actress.
“Thanks to her media persona, Yulia helped to draw attention to the problems of seriously injured people. She organized a donation campaign. Unfortunately, state programs cannot provide good prosthetics,” Ivantsiv told POLITICO. “As for the content she produces, I don’t care. It’s a media product, you can choose whether to consume it. Yulia is Ukrainian and a patriot of her country.”
