Ukrainian Valkyries: women in the army as defenders of the native land
Ukrainian Valkyries: women in the army
Women defenders are not a new reality for Ukraine . A woman who guards her home is not only an ancient folklore image, but also a symbol of self-realization of women both in the past and today. In the modern era, our women have to defend their home from the enemy who shoots, burns and destroys. The Ukrainian women themselves, who have now joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine , call themselves valkyries and convince them that they go to war knowingly to protect their native land.
The new Woman Magazine cover project is about the moral and physical aspect of service, the stories of women in the war and their motivation, as well as how Ukrainian women manage to defend Ukraine no worse than men. The Woman team spoke with servicemen, volunteers, as well as doctors and historians to reveal the secret of the strength of the Ukrainian Valkyries.
WHY ARE WOMEN IN THE ARMY ALREADY THE NORM?
According to The Washington Post , every fifth soldier in the war in Ukraine is a woman. Today, the Armed Forces have more than 50,000 female defenders, among whom 5,000, according to the Ministry of Defense , are currently serving on the front lines. And although Ukrainian women will be officially registered for military registration at their request from October 1, 2022, there are already enough volunteers in the army, military officials say. Most of our women defenders hold the positions of medical staff, communication units, moral and psychological support, clerks, accountants and cooks. But among them there are female snipers, machine gunners and more than a thousand – heads of individual units.
Motivation, says Woman, a servicewoman of one of the rifle companies of the Armed Forces with the call sign “Yalta” , everyone has their own motivation, but it is aimed at overcoming the enemy. Before the war, “Yalta” successfully built a career as a stylist in the field of cinema and show business for 15 years, opened her own costume shop at the Kyiv film studio Dovzhenka and “burned” with creative work. February 24 changed everything.
“Yalta”, a servicewoman of one of the rifle companies of the Armed Forces
“On that day, I immediately went to the Military Commissariat. For me, fighting back against the occupiers now is a personal revenge against the Orcs for the events of 2014, when they took away my native land – Crimea. I can hold a weapon no worse than a man, I am constantly learning, so a woman in the service is absolutely normal.” – admits the girl.
Another of our defenders – a paramedic with the call sign “Swallow” says – before the war, she was engaged in creativity, wrote pictures and books. He sees the motivation to fight in the victory of Ukraine, which will allow him to return home under a peaceful sky and finish his creative work. On the day of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, she did not hesitate for a moment. The only problem at that time was the lack of knowledge and training.
“Swallow”, a paramedic
“They told me: “Nothing! You will be a doctor.” I’m like: “Okay. I don’t have a commander, just like I don’t have experience, I will be my own commander. A week later, I became the head of the battalion’s medical service. I negotiated the provision of ambulances, recruited medical personnel, and I did well,” says Lastivka.
Among Ukrainian women in the army, there are also experienced servicemen. Natalya Borysovska has been serving since 2009. Currently, she is a senior sergeant and commander of the 58th brigade. At the front – for the third time since 2014. The duty to finally free Ukraine from the invaders called her to go to the front line again.
Natalya Borysovska, senior sergeant and commander of the 58th brigade branch
“I was embarrassed by the feeling of unfinished business. Military service is a profession of an individual who does not have a gender, which has character and certain signs of responsibility, like any profession. For me, the definition of a “happy woman” is when I have formed as a person and do what I like. So, I’m happy.” – Natalia says confidently.
Military analysts and historians are convinced that women in the army are not a modern phenomenon. Facts from the history of the 18th century in Sweden and the USA testify to how openly or secretly women, dressed in military uniforms, fought with men. In the 20th century, women received official status in various armies of the world. Since 1948, upon reaching the age of majority, Israeli women enter compulsory registration on the same level as men. Today, every third soldier in this country is a woman.
Since 1948, upon reaching the age of majority, Israeli women enter compulsory registration on the same level as men
As for NATO member states, already in the mid-1970s, women had the opportunity to obtain a military rank in such countries as Denmark, France, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, the USA, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Turkey.
Many of them then engaged not only in medical and food supply, but also, as today, served in the ground and border troops, in the artillery, in the navy and in the air force. The first mentions of the mass participation of women in military campaigns date from the beginning of the 20th century, that is, mostly from the years of the First World War. And, interestingly, Ukrainian women in this list were among the leaders in terms of numbers, notes historian Volodymyr Vyatrovych .
Volodymyr Vyatrovych, historian
“Ukrainian women were among the first women in Europe who directly joined the armed forces, in particular, the Legion of Ukrainian Riflemen, that is, they served full-time since 1914. Olena Stepaniv, a woman who officially became an officer in the army, which later set the trend, was prominent in this field in those days. Both World War I and World War II became a challenge that women accepted and had to go to the front, because there were simply not enough men. And women were successful. Among them is the well-known Ukrainian Daria Rebet – who was in the top leadership of the army and became the head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists,” says Volodymyr Vyatrovych.
Today, in the military sphere in Ukraine, women have official positions equal to men. Some of them are completely innovative and sometimes represent related fields of activity. For example, a military volunteer. Alla Martynyuk , a freelance adviser to the current Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, is engaged in such work. Her tasks are to go to the front and organize the delivery of the necessary humanitarian and military goods there.
Alla Martyniuk, freelance adviser to the current Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
“I have a good understanding of the situation at the front, collect information about what our defenders need, communicate with them, and then organize large-scale purchases at the official level, and again go to hot spots to bring all things to their places. We call it “express delivery” where Nova Poshta does not work. For example, at one time my team and I installed high-speed Starlink Internet in Severodonetsk while our guys were working there.” Alla shared for Woman.
WHAT ARE THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS OF THE SERVICE?
The wars of the last century were a real physical challenge for women. According to historical sources, every day they wore shoulder bags weighing up to 12 kilograms, worked without a break for up to three days even in severe frosts and spent the night under the open sky. And although modern armies in various countries of the world have long taken great steps forward in terms of providing soldiers, the exhaustion of the female body in war does not disappear anywhere and occurs in the current conditions – say the military personnel themselves.
“We, women, have to prepare ourselves for digging, running, and jumping, and currently also dragging a wounded brother or sister from the battlefield, and sometimes the weight of a wounded person is many times greater than my own,” says sergeant Nataliya Borysovska
At the same time, only now in Ukraine have they begun to work on the full-fledged development of women’s military uniforms. While it is not available en masse, the girls from the front line say, they wear men’s clothes that are several sizes larger, and the underwear in general appears to be exclusively male.
“The uniform issued to us by the Armed Forces is completely uncomfortable for women, you have to adjust it to yourself, fasten it with belts or pins, or sew it yourself.” – “Shura” admits.
In the US, separate models of women’s clothing have been sewn for the army for many years, including bulletproof vests adapted to accommodate women’s breasts. A new uniform for Ukrainian women was offered as part of the First Lady’s project “Barrier-free” and the volunteer initiative Arm Women Now . Volunteers have already managed to collect 400,000 hryvnias for sewing the first 300 sets. The sets will include pants, jackets and women’s tactical underwear.
However, even the best form will not solve the problems of the general conditions of war, which are severe everywhere, – state our defenders.
“When I shoot a video for my mother from the front, I try to hide my bruises under my eyes. Of course, there is fatigue, there is physical discomfort. At best, we wash ourselves with a bottle of water, if there is one, because we drink most of it, it is very hot now. If there is no water, then wet napkins save the day”, – shares “Lastivka”.
About women
It is quite possible to solve the issue of women’s hygiene even among the trenches and dugouts, experts say. It is enough to have access to intimate hygiene products, anti-inflammatory and antifungal drugs and, if possible, to be in touch with your gynecologist.
“I understand that many of our female defenders may not have access to a daily shower while on duty. In this case, wet wipes are necessarily intimate or at least children’s wipes without allergens – mast hev with you”, – comments obstetrician-gynecologist Natalia Kovalchuk.
And although the stereotypes about the impossibility of a woman to fight on an equal footing with men have already been dispelled, the physical component can still be a contraindication for a woman in the army. And, surprisingly, according to the regulations on military medical examination in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, even pregnancy is not an obstacle. Instead, these are certain diseases, Nataliya Kovalchuk explains:
“Service is an objectively significant physical load. Because of this, all conditions of a woman’s body, which require restriction of movement mode, exclude the possibility of working in the army. We are talking about any decompensated chronic diseases, oncological diseases that progress or require specialized inpatient treatment, as well as any acute pathologies.”
WHY IS THE ARMY A MORAL CHALLENGE?
If some physical problems can be eliminated with improvised means, then the psychological condition is more difficult. According to specialist statistics, every fifth person who has experienced stress of such a level as the war, as a result, suffers from post-traumatic syndrome. Our servicemen are no exception. Natalia Borysovska confirms that she herself suffered more than once from the consequences of what she experienced:
“If someone tells you that everything is fine, it means that a person is either far from the concept of the army, or he has not been in the service for so long. The tension is constant, especially in the mode of silence, because for us this is the first sign that the enemy is preparing for something. Post-traumatic syndrome is present in everyone – only in different levels. I had burnout, and more than once. There were times when I couldn’t get out of bed for a day because of this very burnout.”
There are a lot of requests for psychological help from the front today, say psychologists. And often they are also from women. In addition to post-traumatic syndrome, the top problems for both women and men in the service are anxiety, panic attacks, moral exhaustion and disorientation.
Vira Romanova, doctor-psychologist
“Many women defenders worry about relationships and the ability to preserve them during the war, about careers and future life. Unfortunately, there are special requests from those who eight years ago were injured due to service in the East and went to fight again with it. As a psychologist, I sincerely advise our defenders to prepare themselves for the fact that something may change after the end of the war – in the family, work or perception of the world. It will be necessary to “get to know” anew and build relationships with loved ones. In the meantime, you should support each other and don’t forget to say that you will get through everything together and be happy.” – comments doctor-psychologist Vira Romanova .
IS THERE DEVELOPMENT AND PERSONAL LIFE DURING SERVICE?
Despite the difficulties at the front, Ukrainian servicemen prove by their own example that life both “during” and “after” is quite possible and happy. And sometimes service in the Armed Forces is a way of self-awareness, realization and reassessment of priorities.
Building a successful career in the army is not a new phenomenon for women nowadays. Ukrainian women hold the positions of commanders of various medical, intelligence and even artillery units. There are even major generals among them, and last year – even before the war – for the first time in our history, a brigadier general, or the commander of the Medical Forces, appeared. She became the colonel of the medical service, Tetyana Ostashchenko. The heroines of our material – “Swallows” and “Shura” have similar ambitions.
“Well of course! I want to continue this path, build a career. First, I will rise to the rank of sergeant, and then to the higher command. I am confident in our women, in their strengths and ambitions! We are real Ukrainian valkyries! We can do everything!”, – convinced “Shura”.
“Shura”: women in the army
Already a commander, and of more than one unit, Nataliya Borysovska shares the optimism of her sisters to move up the career ladder in the army. In addition to recognition and implementation, from her experience of more than ten years of service, she took away the most important things, in her opinion:
“I know how to defend, I have a character, I have become a full-fledged person, I have developed the concept throughout my life that there are no problems that cannot be solved except by death, of course. I can provide medical assistance to any passer-by without waiting for an ambulance, because of being at the front, I have acquired the ability to survive in any conditions, and my brain and “guts” work like clockwork,” Natalia assures.
Natalia Borysovska: women in the army
Love is on the front line
The fact that our Ukrainian women can realize themselves both in the rear and at the front is proved by numerous stories of not only career achievements, but also the creation of new families – just on the front lines. Lastivka recently became a happy bride – our military paramedic. Together with their beloved, they got married in one of the capital’s temples during a vacation from service. The girl had camouflage for her wedding dress. And also – Lastivka boasts – she wore brand new berets specially for the wedding ceremony.
Lastivka wore new berets specially for the wedding ceremony
“A woman can always be happy. Both in peacetime and in war. We organized our wedding in one day and were delighted with how atmospheric it was. I believe that the place where I found myself at the present time only hardened our relationship with my husband. Now, together with him, we are bringing our victory closer to the front line. And who said that life stopped because of the war? No way! Go ahead, whoever you are!”
Text: Victoria Pokatilova
Photo: personal archives of the heroes
Cover: illustrator, artist Inna Sych
