Cara Ashton, who became the spokeswoman for the Defense Forces of the Ukraine. Why is everyone talking about her?

American Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who came to Ukraine a year and a half ago and joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, became the official representative of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and launched several media projects for the English-speaking audience in the United States and Europe.

In Russian social networks, this information, as expected, caused a wave of hatred and insults directed at Sarah. However, this news touched many Ukrainian users. The aggression was caused primarily by the fact that Sara, 46, is a transgender woman who changed her gender about four years ago. Until 2019, it was Michael John Cirillo.

How did she end up in Ukraine, what is she doing here, and what does she respond to the brutal insults directed at her?

"If I had been asked earlier if I would land in Ukraine, I would have said no"

Before coming to Ukraine, Sara lived in the USA, in Las Vegas. In recent years, he has been involved in journalism and communication, as well as writing. After visiting Syrian refugee camps in Turkey in 2015, she wrote the book "On the Trail of Tears".

Sarah admits: she never thought that one day she would come to Ukraine and fight.

"Of course it's fashionable, in trend"

Russian media have been spreading information about the "new spokesman of the Armed Forces" for several days, emphasizing Sarah Ashton's transgender nature and assuring that Ukrainians are outraged by this news.

“ZSU pondered for a long time who was going to make his face for Western audiences, and finally came up with it. Of course he's a transgender - it's fashionable”, wrote one Russian publication.

"Sara has a large American audience", says Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar. "From June 25 to July 23, Twitter alone had an audience of 28.3 million. So why did hostile social networks get so excited about the hate? Understandable.

Andriy Tarasenko, one of the Right Sector activists, calls the appointment of a "transsexual from America" ​​a "Spanish disgrace".

"What difference does it make, what gender or gender self-identity?" Andriy Luchkov replies in the comments to the post. "She lived and reported on Russian attacks on Kharkiv on Twitter. By the way, in northern Saltivka. In my opinion, she is a brave person."

“I absolutely don't care if she's transgender or not. I see her as a woman because she is associated with a woman. And those who sit at home, on the couch, do not fight and make excuses for themselves, are hated”, says the head of the BBC's Ukrainian communications service with the public of the TRO command of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian SSU Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky, who invited Sara to work in the media sphere.

If someone doesn't like their views on life, don't look, don't listen. But the result shows that he is doing the right thing.

Director of the Center for Civil Society Research Vitaly Kulyk admits that the appearance of such a person may seem strange to the Ukrainian consumer of information, but if it will be effective for the American audience, then "why not".

“I don't care what gender is fighting for Ukraine against the Russian aggressor. Because this is a war for survival. That is why I will gladly accept the participation of anyone who will side with Ukraine,” said Vitaly Kulyk in a commentary for BBC Ukraine.

“I know that many LGBT representatives are fighting for Ukraine. There is a whole formation of LGBT military men who openly position themselves. And they are fighting not only for the independence of Ukraine, but also for their rights, as well as for the rights of LGBT people in other countries, including Russia,” the expert emphasizes.

After a wave of discussion in social networks, Sarah Ashton herself responded to all interested.

“In Ukraine, we are not fighting for tolerance, and we are not asking for acceptance. In Ukraine, we live and die for freedom and liberation for all people", she wrote on Twitter.

"Everything else is just noise, noise that has no place in wartime or in a free society," he argues.