Volodymyr Zelensky qui remet une médaille à une femme soldat le 23 mai 2023 dans l'oblast de Donetsk. MAXPPP – Pool /Ukrainian Presidentia
While the ranks of both armies are showing signs of weakness and are struggling to recruit, Ukraine is seeing more and more women enlist, even though they are not eligible for conscription.
While diplomacy seems to be considered to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, as some leaders such as Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky have assured, fighting continues to rage on the front lines. In the east of the country, Ukraine is losing more and more ground, losing men and kyiv's army is struggling to recruit.
Zelensky is not in favor of mobilizing women
Many Ukrainians are fleeing the country to escape the mobilization, which has been expanded several times by President Volodymyr Zelensky. But this mobilization only concerns men of fighting age, not women. Yet there are tens of thousands of them who want to fight against the enemy.
At the beginning of the year, in March to be precise, there were 65,000 women in the ranks, which represents a little more than 7% of the total workforce, reports the New York Times, relayed by Géo. What tasks are they assigned to ? Nearly 45,000 have military positions, while the rest occupy civilian positions and a few thousand others occupy combat positions, the Ministry of Defense says.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Recently, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the bill “12076”. The latter contains “a provision allowing women who meet the health and age criteria to register for military service as conscripts and complete basic training”, according to Newsweek, quoted by the French magazine. But one MP called for its deletion in the second reading.
This is a real long-standing debate for the executive, which divides the country's elected officials. “There are not two types of citizens in the Constitution. We currently have illegal discrimination against men. Moreover, if women are mobilized, men will be less mobilized – this is one of the factors why you, men, support the mobilization of your fellow citizens”, said a female MP, Mariana Bezuglaya, in favor of the enlistment of women.
While men are eligible for mobilization, women are only recruited as volunteers, provided they meet the health criteria, as well as the minimum age, which is 25 years. If Volodymyr Zelensky had already shown himself reluctant to the idea of making them mobilizable in order to guarantee “the rear bases (global economy and logistics)”, which he considers vital for the country, Ukraine needs new soldiers more than ever.
“The war is hurting us”
Several of them are already participating in the conflict. “When my husband went to war, I realized that I also wanted to be useful. He is a drone pilot, so about a year ago I decided to join the small drone production” , Halyna Yavorska told the media Politico. This Ukrainian woman is a lawyer but also works in a factory producing drones that are used by soldiers.
These women work in several sectors of activity such as construction, truck driving, but also in defense companies.
“The war hurts us, but it is also an opportunity for us to acquire a new profession, to revise our skills”, maintains the lawyer. If sexism and glorification of the fighter are present in the country, these women soldiers do not feel any of this, according to them.
“I have never been confronted with any form of sexism in this sector. We have a woman at the head of the defense procurement agency, and a woman, deputy minister of strategic industries… Women occupy so many different positions”, testifies another Ukrainian woman.
“Women must play a leading role in the country's economy. Because our men protect [Ukraine] and do everything so that the war does not reach us, we must help them at the front and take courses and learn other professions too”, added this last.