Eva Reuter: Another Brave Victim of Russia’s Growing Double-Tap Strike Campaign

Oct 26, 2026 16:40 Updated Oct 26, 2026 16:43

8 min read

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Authors

Joseph Place

Author

Since 2022, Eva Reuter had saved lives all over Ukraine, including the most dangerous parts of the front. She was killed on August 1, 2026, at the age of 25, just a few minutes from her home, as a result of a double-tap strike in Kyiv. Her death is proof of a consistent, deliberate strategy from Russia to take the lives of rescuers and paramedics. Eva’s funeral took place in September 2026 in St. Michael’s Cathedral, followed by a commemoration at Maidan. 

“I’ve been fighting my whole life, and I never knew anyone so brave...she died to save others….and where we were that night, there were many people who needed her help, and she knew that.” With these words, standing on Maidan Square, Eva’s fiancé remembers his lost love. 

The fiancé, Joey, callsign “Exile”, is an American fighting for Ukraine whom Eva met in Pokrovsk. At the funeral, he sits looking at the coffin, his arms around Eva’s mother, with the hand of Sonja, their fellow paramedic and Eva’s best friend, on his shoulder. Outside are photos of Eva in her uniform, alongside flowers, which she loved—attendees were asked to bring colorful flowers and stuffed toys, two of her most beloved things. 

In the church, a siren echoes around. Unimpressed, the priest continues the funeral service for Eva, his hymn accompanied by the eerie but familiar sound. Somewhere on the outskirts of Kyiv, a shopping mall is hit. More lives are lost. 

Over 100 people attend her funeral, from her family and friends to soldiers and other rescue workers. People dress in uniforms, military-style clothes, or vyshyvankas, as requested by Sonia in the invitation. Not everyone knows her, but most are in tears or visibly heartbroken. She touched the lives of many. In the words of her fiancé, “Eva died doing what she strove to do: helping and saving others”. 

When the speeches conclude, people go to approach her coffin to say one last goodbye. When it's Joey's turn, he hesitates, visibly shaken. In war, death often comes much too early. 

What happened to Eva Reuter?

Eva died in a double-tap strike. These are attacks in which a follow-up drone or missile strikes the same target after the first responders arrive, and they are a growing threat to rescuers. There are also cases of triple or quadruple taps. The night Eva died, Russian missiles hit the same place four times.

While describing the night of the attack to UNITED24 Media, Joey is determined to tell the story, despite the pain in his voice. He explained that he saw the first explosion from his and Eva’s apartment balcony as he smoked a cigarette and she was lying in bed. He went to get his gear. He told Eva to stay, to which she replied, “I cannot stay in bed while you’re out there.” 

They picked up their neighbour, Vitalina Yarovenko, and drove to an underground car park to get into their gear. While doing so, they heard a second explosion—potentially a double tap on the same site. Joey asked, “So, are we going?” and she replied without hesitation, “Yes.”

They drove to the scene of the attack, with glass on the road, though there was no air alert. However, as they approached the “bright, burning building,” the warning went off for an Iskander missile. They knew a double-tap was likely—unfortunately, he was right. At this point of the story, Joey lights another cigarette and takes a pause. Once he gathers himself, Joey shares that he went in and out of consciousness. He fell on the floor as he got out of the vehicle, but came around and saw fire at the back of the car. Joey quickly grabbed Vitalina, who was still inside, and attempted to retrieve Eva, as she had heavier gear. He was not sure if either Eva or Vitalina was still alive after the blast. He had “no idea” how badly he was wounded. Fire was creeping up the car. As he tried to grab Eva, someone else dragged him to an ambulance. Then there was another explosion. At this point it was clear: the two young women did not survive.

Eva Reuter: Hospitalier, medic, volunteer, and artist

 What is important is to know her life, more than just her death. Joey and Sonia told UNITED24 Media more about who Eva Reuter was.

In June 2022, Reuter defended her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts. Art was one of her main passions alongside history.  Later that year, she volunteered to join the Hospitallers Medical Battalion. She was also a member of the Medic 13 rescue crew.  Before military service, she was very active in civic, human rights, environmental, and animal initiatives, which continued during her service, including one for veterans.  It is through art that Sonia met Eva in 2023 when Eva rented a tattoo studio from her to tattoo her fellow “brothers and sisters in arms”. Joey said she could create beautiful art “in 30 minutes” that most people would need months to do. 

Sonia says Eva “never turned away from someone else’s problem,” and that “he believed the future of warfare depended on technologies capable of saving soldiers’ lives, and dedicated herself to advancing that vision every day.”

When Eva met Joey, she was attached to the company as a Hospitalier. Joey said at the commemoration to fellow soldiers that “nothing we did in Pokrovsk could have happened without her, you know that.” Joey explains this was because after joining his unit in Pokrovsk, Eva became a leader. ”She helped us use ground drones to evacuate wounded soldiers and taught others how to operate them, organized logistics and fundraising for the unit.

When asked about the soldiers in attendance, Joey replies, “Those guys came (to the funeral) not because I asked, but because they lost a sister; she was our leader – I meant it, she made it work as a unit – and made something happen that other units across Ukraine are doing – so couldn't be more proud of her, and neither could they.” The anger rises in his voice. “Now, people are coming back, some from New Zealand, to avenge her.” 

One story Joey shares sums up her entire character more than anything else. It goes like this: When they were stationed in the north, one of their friends, callsign “Helmet” (who was at the funeral), survived a Shajhed attack and needed rescuing. However, it was dangerous and cold, and almost everyone was afraid to rescue him. But “Guess who came?” Joey says, “Eva; she threw her stuff on, with no fear, and went to rescue him. He then got treatment in Kharkiv and eventually in Germany”. These stories inspired great loyalty and support among those who knew her.

Everyone’s memorials and personal stories show that Eva had different sides to her personality, both strong and sensitive. She was committed to many passions and pushed herself to near-impossible standards in everything she tried. From helping animals, which would find their way to her, assisting foreigners join the military and prepare for drone warfare, to developing innovations for the military and saving lives. Sonia says that Eva was the “embodiment of female strength, a truly strong Ukrainian woman” and that “I think she definitely saved more than a hundred people, and she was always trying to do even more” in Pokrovsk and the Kharkiv region.’

Eva is one of many victims in Russia’s deliberate strategy of using what are called double-tap and triple-tap strikes against civilians and rescuers, which is claiming the lives of the brave people who go to save lives. These strikes have grown each year, with 48 documented cases in 2025, and by October 2026, 40+ already; however, numbers are likely higher. 

Eva’s death is a reminder that those who go to help others in Ukraine are deliberately killed by Russia, which exploits the lack of sufficient air defense to target civilians. Eva is not the only person who has lost their life, and others have and will follow. Deaths of medical workers were the highest in 2025 since 2022, and those who go to rescue others from the rubble risk their lives daily in Ukraine. Russian missile and drone attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure have sharply increased throughout 2026, claiming more lives on a daily basis. Stories like Eva remind us that there is more than just statistics; there are full lives, often cut very short.