The unfolding of the war that has been opposing Russia and Ukraine for some time now is difficult to predict. Nevertheless, Ukrainians have already shown their willingness to resist and fight back. This fact is well illustrated by the fact that approximately one out of five Ukrainians fighting on the front are women.

The Christian Science Monitor recently published a video in several Ukrainian women explaining why they decided to go fight for their country’s freedom.

One of them is Nadia Babych, a security guard at the checkpoint in eastern Ukraine. „We are here to protect our country, our families,” he says. Nadia has two children.

Another one of them is 51-year-old Marta Yuzkiv, a scientist reserve soldier of the Ukrainian army, put it as follows: “Either you kill the enemy, or the enemy can kill your child”. 

Among the courageous women who took weapons to defend their land, there is also  Anastasia Lenna, a former Ukrainian beauty queen. After joining the army, she wrote on Instagram that “any Russian who attacks her country will be killed.”

At the end of last year, the Ukrainian authorities amended the regulations in such a way that women are also being summoned to appear before military commissions. 

The authorities also expanded the list of professions that are required to be combat-ready. The list now includes accountants, financiers, women construction industry workers, journalists, cooks, photographers and even waitresses.

Image: Facebook (Doina Bularga-Banaru)

Cover photo: Sabe Penn

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen