lana, "sati."
meet a queer ukrainian hero who sacrified their life fighting russian imperialism.
This essay is open to everyone. If you’ll get moved by Lana’s story, please:
Lately, I don’t have words I can bring out.
Strange sensations: total exhaustion + constant uncertainty + a million tasks—some stable, some sudden, and far from always reasonable; completely unplanned management + so much falsehood around, and I don’t want to see it, but I have to + the understanding that the struggle will continue as long as we keep fighting, and we’re not planning to give up + despite everything, the burning hearts of those close to me—and my own.
A lot of bad, a lot of good. I’m learning not to let everything pass through me, but it doesn’t always work.
I’m grateful for those nearby—your inner life gives life to me too.
I really want to rest a little, just a little, and then continue what I’ve started.
And the beauty around me is such that I find myself in a film again.
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Lana “Sati”, aka @danceinside_
28.03.2025
We are mourning a painful loss for the Ukrainian queer family and the Ukrainian anti-colonial resistance. Lana “Sati” Chornohorska (used she/they - I will use both interchangeably here, the way Lana would do), a fearless, brave hero who sacrificed their life on the Ukrainian frontline so the rest of us in Europe can keep living as authentic selves in peace and comfort.
A fragment from Sati’s interview for the ‘Someone Loves Someone’ podcast by Hromadske Radio. Watch the entire episode, auto-subtitled to English, here.
Lana “Sati” was barely 26. But like most Ukrainians of her age, she/they made civil activism part of her/their daily life and never took democracy, equality and freedom for granted. Sati walked our Kyiv Pride marches with us, spoke out against corruption and demanded gender equality.
An artist and a storyteller, Lana never imagined herself doing anything with arms or military, but when russia invaded her home, she/they became part of the volunteer effort by millions of average Ukrainians to empower Ukrainian defenders at the frontline. Because in the russian occupation, there’s no place for queerness, gender equality, democracy or human dignity.
She wasn’t just a bright person who ignited others. As someone of culture, she understood that the right to culture still has to be defended from the abyss that is rushing westward ever faster. I have met very few people who grasp this. Coming from the arts scene myself, the contrast is especially painful for me—where most of the scene just keeps partying, and only people like Lana are the stars you can lean on in the midst of catastrophic darkness that keeps infiltrating deeper and deeper…
A lightning‑born star cannot be killed. Light will always overcome darkness, but not on its own—victory is carried by the brightest people, with their sweat, their blood, and their LIVES.
a memory shared by Alexander Sharma, Lana’s brother-in-arms.
However, volunteering did not feel enough. In one of their latest interviews, Lana shared the harrowing toll it took to watch their close friends and family start getting killed by russian invaders, one by one. She/they could no longer mourn on a side. Lana enlisted in 2024, too. That’s how she/they got her call sign ‘Sati,’ which had become their new preferred name.
A fragment of Lana’s interview for Kharkiv-based news outlet Lyuk Media. Watch the entire interview, auto-subtitled to English, here.
Lana joined Udachniki, a volunteer unit doing drone reconnaissance for the Ukrainian defence tech forces — part of the Ukrainian anti-colonial resistance that is revolutionising the way democracies will defend themselves and the nature of warfare for generations to come. A very fitting place for their trailblazing persona.
Nevertheless, while in active combat, Sati remained true to authentic self: speaking out for gender equality in democratic defence and educating the rest of the society on their non-binary truth. They/she became one of the most outspoken soldiers within the ranks of the Ukrainian LGBTQ+ military.
“She could find a common language with literally anyone. Sometimes it even felt a bit scary, because she was constantly bringing someone over to introduce to you. I think it came from a mix of several traits: curiosity, bravery, and a kind of captivating energy. That’s also what made her so multifaceted — there was nothing she didn’t love / do / create. She had been so many things in her life.
And Lana was incredibly principled. That kind of loyalty to one’s ideas appears maybe once in fifteen people. Around fourteen people in our group eventually changed their political views — Lana didn’t.
So if Lana ever told you that she believed in you, that she loved you — she meant it until the very end,” wrote in a moving essay her close friend, Lina Paladiichuk.
Coming from Zaporizhzhia, the city that raised me, too, Lana was an incredibly multifaceted talent: a fighter, an artist, a journalist, a culture worker. It pains me to imagine what she could achieve, for all of us, in Ukraine and Europe, if the russian empire did not exist.
russian invaders murdered Lana on the first day of this year.
What do I want you to take from Lana’s story?
First, that there’s no better way to understand Ukraine and russian imperialism than through personal stories of Ukrainians who risk everything to resist it.
There’s also something else. Many abroad with a peacetime mentality fail to get that democratic defence, like in Ukraine, isn't outsourced to professionals—to survive, everyone contributes. On the frontline or supporting the frontline. Ukraine's army, the largest and most experienced in Europe, represents the full spectrum of society: engineers, artists, journalists, baristas, and whatnot, bringing their diverse skills and lived experiences to the fight. This horizontal mobilisation—not top-down imperial command—made Ukrainian defence the most successful anti-colonial resistance to russian imperialism to date.
Lana was not an outlier or curious exception in all of it. She represented the rule that makes Ukrainian resilience possible.
Lana was incredibly social—it felt like she knew everyone in the world. Friends won’t let me lie: whenever you found Lana at a party, she’d always say, “Oh, I need to introduce you to someone.” I think that’s how some new people joined our group.
Over these past few days, we’ve seen a huge wave of posts and stories about Lana, which shows just how amazing she was and how many people loved her.
Lana always stood her ground and was lucky enough to be herself. When people called her “a girl,” she never tired of calmly explaining her non-binary identity. I personally witnessed her do this a hundred times—peacefully and skillfully defending who she was. It felt like that strength and courage were born even before Lana herself.
A memory shared by Lana’s close friend and a Ukrainian LGBTQ+ activist, Yakiv Lavrynets:
Naturally, there are not that many queer or non-binary Ukrainians within the ranks of the Ukrainian resistance. Just because of a simple fact that they make a numerical minority within any society. However, maybe because they have to fight an extra mile to live an authentic self. Or maybe because they face an existential pressure a tad more intense by being queer and Ukrainian - two things russian imperial culture despises the most. But to me, the stories of these people are often the most vivid illustrations of the driving force behind the Ukrainian people’s never-give-up phenomenon.
I’ll leave you with this moving essay by Kafa, another non-binary fighter within the ranks of the Ukrainian anti-colonial resistance, which they posted as a tribute to the fallen hero Lana.
I am a non-binary queer person. I am a freedom fighter. I am an anarchist — not an activist, and most importantly, not a woman. A femme fatale, maybe. But not a woman.
A weapon of Victory. Revenge. A flame of an Idea. All of these things make me who I am, alongside other traits that define me. I care for others. I try to live honestly and to respect the people around me — and I expect the same in return.
Anyone who is bothered by me, or others, being open about gender identity, expression, or line of work is invited to walk a mile in my shoes. Or don’t and keep your prejudices to yourself. Whatever you think or say will not affect who I am. Who we are.
Stay rad. Resist. Don’t bend under pressure. Refuse to disappear.
As for all friends and LGBTQ+ people, who gave their lives, so we can quarrel with each other about theory and praxis - you are not forgotten. All the tomorrows are yours. Rest in Power.
Thank you.
Your militant they/them,
Kafa.
Rest in power, Lana.
m.
very powerful
Oh my God, this is so powerful.
I am so sorry, Maksym, my condolences to you and the entire community. You’ve painted a wonderful picture of Lana, their smile will now live on in my memory for quite a while to come.
They were rare, and already achieved so much..
May they rest in peace… ✨🕯️