Paievska documented her work in early 2022 during the Siege of Mariupol with a bodycamera, and smuggled the video out of the city with the aid of a local police officer and international reporters on March 15, 2022.

The next day, Paievska and her ambulance driver were captured by Russia while assisting a wounded civilian fleeing the Mariupol theatre airstrike.

A resident of Kyiv, Paievska was raised by her grandfather, a decorated Soviet World War II veteran who had fought in the Siege of Leningrad.

Yulia was born in Kyiv, Ukraine,[2] and raised by her grandfather, Kostiantyn Chubukov, who served as an intelligence officer in the Soviet Air Forces during World War II, and survived the Siege of Leningrad.

[2][3][4][6][7][8] She began by providing medical care to wounded protesters under fire on Hrushevsky Street in her native Kyiv, and decided to remain on the front lines with other like-minded volunteers.

[4] In her first year in Donbas, she formed a volunteer ambulance corps that treated both civilian and military casualties, which eventually gained the moniker "Taira's Angels".

[2][3][10] During her four-year tour in Donbas, Paievska served throughout the front lines, including in Shchastia, Popasna, Zolote, Avdiivka,[11] Svitlodarsk, and Shyrokyne,[12][13] treating civilians, Ukrainian soldiers, and separatist militants.

[15] In 2021, Paievska received a body camera to take part in a documentary series about inspirational people being produced by Prince Harry, founder of the Invictus Games.

The video shows Taira and her "Angels" providing medical treatment to Ukrainian civilians as well as Russian soldiers during the Siege of Mariupol.

On March 15, Paievska, with the help of a police officer intermediary, gave the data card to Associated Press reporters, who smuggled it through 15 Russian checkpoints out of Mariupol and to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

[4][14][6][7] Paievska is considered a "prize" by Russia because of her esteemed reputation in Ukraine as a star athlete who trained the country's volunteer medic force.

[2][4][9][10][6][7][8] Ukraine's government has attempted to obtain Paievska's release as part of a prisoner exchange, but Russia initially refused the requests and denied holding her.

[14][6] On June 17, 2022, Paievska's release by Russian forces was announced by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a national video address.