On the front line just outside Bakhmut, Ukraine, a 32-year-old commander of a Ukrainian artillery platoon climbs into the passenger seat of a beat-up Lada as another soldier drives the car through the dense forest, occasionally cutting. Under the young trees. When they reached their destination, a small village two miles from the Russian lines, all that was left were ruined houses, their roofs visible in the moonlight.
The commander, a female soldier who uses a call sign witch, is a former lawyer who, along with her two brothers and mother, joined the army in February 2022 the day after Russia invaded. His first experience in war was in the outer region. That year in Kyiv, and much of what he learned about weapons systems, was self-taught and on the fly.
Since early 2023, Witch has been monitoring all artillery systems in the area around Bakhmut with her platoon in the 241 Brigade. She is determined to stay in the army even if the war ends. “People who want to join the armed forces should understand that it is a way of life,” he said.
As Ukraine struggles against heavy Russian aggression and its casualties mount, there is an increase in women who are enlisted, and they are increasingly volunteering for combat roles. The Ukrainian military has also made a concerted effort to recruit more women to fill its ranks.
About 65,000 women are currently serving in Ukraine’s armed forces, a 30 percent increase since the war began. About 45,000 serve as military personnel, and the rest are in civilian positions, according to the Defense Ministry. Just over 4,000 are in combat positions.
Unlike for Ukrainian men, there is no mandatory draft for women. However, women with medical or pharmacy degrees must register for the service.
These women fill a growing number of positions in the military: combat medics in assault units; Senior Gunner; snipers; commanders of tank units and artillery batteries; And at least one co-pilot on the medevac team dreams of becoming Ukraine’s first female helicopter combat pilot. Dozens have been injured in the fighting, and some have been killed or captured.
On the front line, they walk under the same blanket of fear and hardship as male soldiers. In the dirty, fortified shelter where the Witch and one of her mortar teams spent most of the day, they waited in near darkness in the basement. Keeping the lights on would mean the crew wouldn’t be able to quickly adjust their eyes to the darkness if they had to go out and fire.
Further north, Commander Tesla with the call sign, a former Ukrainian folk singer, sat on a stool in the bare house that served as field headquarters for the 32nd Mechanized Brigade. In the Kopyansk region, Russian troops were raining artillery on Ukrainian territory.
Tesla would simultaneously send text and voice notes to soldiers in his unit while talking to the second in command about the battlefield plan. His baggy pants were rolled up, revealing new orange socks with cartoon avocados on them.
She was trying to divert Russian fire on the various battalions back to her soldiers’ positions, so that another unit could evacuate a comrade who was seriously wounded. “Three tourniquets on three different limbs,” came the information on a voice message, he said.
“Send one more,” Tesla ordered on a voice note, ordering his soldiers to fire again. “When you finish, let me know.”
Shortly after the Russian offensive began in October, presumably on Ukrainian lines, 24 of his soldiers trained in artillery were ordered to reinforce the infantry, which were always located near the Russian lines. Tesla spoke to them before they were deployed, feeling helpless.
“The worst thing is that I gave them instruction in completely different things in the artillery, and then they were sent to the infantry,” he said. “And, imagine, they’re standing there watching you as their commander, knowing they’re going to be sent into the worst possible situation.”
Of the 24 sent forward, 15 were wounded, Tesla said, and one was captured in battle. The incident weighed on Tesla’s conscience, but he kept his worries to himself. Her mother was still unaware that Tesla was leading an artillery battery, thinking her daughter was working as a teacher at an academy, a safe distance from the front.
Until 2018, women were prohibited from holding combat positions in the Ukrainian army, although some rules were ignored. Restrictions have been eased since the Russian invasion. The induction of thousands more female service members into the military is widely seen as a welcome step for the country, whose talks to join NATO and the European Union are still under review.
The disadvantage is that the military is not able to deploy quickly enough to accommodate them. Women soldiers say there is still a severe shortage of women’s bags and shoes, properly fitted body armor, and feminine hygiene products. This leaves women to achieve many things on their own.
As a result, organizations like Vetranka and Zemlichkei have helped fill the gap by raising money for products designed for women.
But the problems go deeper, into issues of gender-based inequality and discrimination.
Many women who served in combat roles said that male soldiers and direct superiors often did not differentiate by gender – although there were still sexual abuses and inappropriate comments.
Rather, it is senior commanders, often holders from the Soviet era, who ignore women in the military, especially those in combat roles. In some cases, women are choosing to join newly formed brigades with younger, more dynamic commanders.
“I did not want to join the brigade that was established many years ago because I knew that they would not listen to me as a young officer and as a woman,” said Tesla.
In one instance, a brigade commander was so offended by a woman commanding an artillery battery that he directly demoted her. “You fall back on your knees to me when you feel the job is too difficult, and I will not allow you to leave your post,” he recalled her saying, using her name for speaking candidly about a sensitive subject. Requesting anonymity. .
Claims of sexual harassment have also surfaced. According to some women, there is no official channel to report harassment except to battalion commanders, who then have to decide whether to follow up. In some cases, female soldiers said, witnesses may refuse to testify out of fear.
Those obstacles, as well as the potential to damage their military careers, deter women from reporting harassment, female soldiers said.
On Jan. 1, the military launched a hotline where soldiers can report sexual harassment, Defense Department spokeswoman Diana Devin said. He said the reports would be investigated, and action would be taken if the allegations were found to be true.
The ministry also said it plans to create a separate unit dedicated to ensuring gender equality and providing educational programs, including one focused on combating war-related sexual violence.
Back in the basement, Tesla called from the command post: it was time to fire. The team entered a partially covered yard a few feet away where a mortar barrel was prepared.
A silence fell as Kozia, 20, a senior gunner with the mortar platoon, looked through the scope and read the coordinates on his phone. “Fire!” someone called. Several more rounds were sent before the team retreated to the basement, awaiting the likely return of the Russians.
Just months ago, Kuzya’s boyfriend was killed in the war. She and Witch, who has a 7-year-old son whom she has barely seen in the past year, seem to find comfort in each other’s company. The two women train at the same judo club in the capital city of Kiev, and the day after the attack, they went to the gathering office to sign up.
For many women, war and the desire to be in war feels like something they have prepared for years. Foxy, 24, a former barista turned medic, volunteered to make mosquito nets after school in his teenage years, before he worked with wounded veterans. She joined the army last year after a week of training.
Her battalion commander gave her two options: “You’re a woman. You can work with documents or eat borscht,” Foxy recalled. “I had no choice but to handle the paperwork until I changed battalions.
She then became part of a mortar team in some of the most intense fighting on the front line in Bakhmut, and was considered an equal by her team. “While I faced some sexism in the beginning,” she said, “I feel like I don’t have to prove anything or convince anyone of what I can do.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Katrina, 21, a lieutenant and pilot of an Mi-8 medical evacuation helicopter. Katerina has yet to fly her first medevac mission, but she hopes to become Ukraine’s first female fighter pilot.
Ukrainian society is gradually overcoming its suspicion of women serving in the military. Currently, it is up to a new generation of women and their allies, who will also be better placed to combat discrimination and sexual harassment.
Evelina Riabenko Contributed to reporting.
