While the world has been shocked and threatened by the news of the recent Russian invasion in Ukraine, many Ukrainians have been preparing for this alternative for months and years. The socio-political tensions and the threat of war have been tangible since 2014, when the conflict between Ukraine and Russia first began. It wasn’t until 2017, however, that the presence of women was fully embraced in the Ukrainian military, allowing them to be included in 62 combat positions as well as permitting them to attend military academies.
Since then, more women than ever before have joined the Ukrainian army, prepared to fight for their country and protect their loved ones. “I definitely don’t want to live under occupation, and I am not leaving, so my choice is to fight for my land, my family and my country,” said Marta Yuzkiv, a clinical research expert interviewed for an article in The Telegraph in January 2022, only a month after the Ukrainian government called for women between 18 and 60 to join the Ukrainian military in case of a Russian invasion and subsequent mobilisation. ‘Either you kill the enemy, or they kill your kid,’ added Yuzkiv, whose views undoubtedly reflect the outlooks of others.
Now, the war has begun, and while many women have, or are attempting to escape the civilian battlefields and protect their children from the dangers of the Russian aggression, others have stayed to protect their country instead. Recent statistics have shown that around 32,000 women now serve in the Ukrainian military, which accounts to more than 15% of soldiers of the Ukrainian army. In fact, some of them have decided to share their experience on social media platforms such as Tik-Tok or Instagram, posting pictures and videos depicting the unbreakable spirit of the Ukrainian army which have been regarded as an act of positive resistance.
Similarly, a former Miss Ukraine, Anastasiia Lenna, has recently decided to join the military forces and now uses Instagram to share the truth about what is really happening in her home country, and “to inspire people”. In her most recent post, which has attracted more than 714,000 viewers, Lenna shared a video collage of the chilling developments in Ukraine. “I am not a military, just a woman, just normal human. Just a person, like all people of my country,” wrote Lenna and then continued: “I had a normal life just on Wednesday, like millions people. I don’t do any propaganda except showing that our woman of Ukraine – strong, confident and powerful.”
However, the views on women in the Ukrainian army haven’t always been this positive. In fact, sexist attitudes in the military have previously caused outrage in both Ukraine and the global media. In August 2021, the Ukrainian military was heavily criticised after pictures of female soldiers marching in high heels in preparation for a military parade appeared online. This incident, which was labelled as “idiotic” and “harmful” by a member of the liberal Golos party, Inna Sovsun, is unfortunately not an isolated example of sexist tendencies in the Ukrainian army.
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, former military paramedic Kateryna Pryimak also expressed dissatisfaction with the discriminatory views on women who serve in the army. According to Pryimak, mothers who hold positions in the Ukrainian military often face prejudice and criticism which labels them as “failed”. In order to mitigate the gender tensions within the army itself, the Ukrainian military has employed gender advisors and positioned them on military bases around the country.
While it is clear that many Ukrainian women are now ready to protect their country regardless of the costs, there is still a long way to go to reach sexual equality in this Eastern European nation. Let’s therefore hope that the Russian aggression will not only result in Ukraine becoming a part of the European Union and NATO, but that this tragic turn of events will eventually bring greater equality to women, as well as all the marginalised communities within Ukrainian society.