Women in the war: how Ukrainian women defend their country with weapons in their hands - ForumDaily
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Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
Bu məqalə Google Translate servisi vasitəsi ilə avtomatik olaraq rus dilindən azərbaycan dilinə tərcümə olunmuşdur. Bundan sonra mətn redaktə edilməmişdir.

Women in the war: how Ukrainians defend their country with weapons in their hands

Take the first blow of the enemy, and then crawl out of the deep rear of the enemy to warn the command of the deployment of enemy troops. This is not the plot of a film about the Second World War, but the real feats that Ukrainian women have to perform at the front today.

Irina Yuzhanina. Photo: press service of “Women for the Future”

Commander of the First Mechanized Tank Platoon, Junior Lieutenant Irina Yuzhanina in the truest sense of the word, she met the enemy at the borders of her country, in the village of Desna near the Belarusian border. On the morning of February 24, the platoon was already in defensive positions in full combat readiness. The girl and the soldiers under her command had to hold the line for weeks and carry out combat missions, including behind enemy lines. However, at the very beginning of March, the enemy noticed a small reconnaissance group of five people, led by Irina.

The courage of women

«I managed to cope with the fear of death and find the strength in myself to reassure and reassure my guys. In a plastuna way, on our elbows, we had to overcome more than 10 kilometers, making our way to our own. I never thought that I would have to crawl in body armor, fully armed, such a long distance, forgetting about my manicure, broken nails, worn hands and back pain from heavy equipment. As a result, the guys and I managed to break through and report to the command about the deployment of enemy troops. This information saved the lives of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers“- says Irina.

People's Deputy of Ukraine 8th convocation, leader of the women's movement "For future"(For the Future") Irina Suslova recalls: when the Russian aggression against Ukraine only began in 2014, women could not officially hold military positions.

«There were legislative restrictions that forbade women to be snipers, tankers. In fact, women still performed combat missions, but were issued by signalmen, cooks, and so on. Accordingly, if they were injured, they were not entitled to benefits or medical treatment. In case of death in battle, their families also did not receive compensation.", - explains the people's deputy.

During the war years, Irina and her comrades-in-arms managed to achieve the removal of these restrictions. Today, Ukrainian women can officially defend their country as full-fledged combat officers.

«For me, the war began back in 2014. I applied to the military registration and enlistment office as a volunteer, but I was refused because I had a 2-year-old daughter. I then still understood that Russia would not stop in Crimea and Donbass", - says Evgenia Emerald, now - a military sniper, with the "Safari" regiment, she went through the hottest combat zones from Bucha to Kharkov.

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«The sniper position is the most dangerous: I am the enemy's first target. The lives of my brothers depend on me. Just two shots are enough for the enemy to reveal my position, and the price of a mistake is the lives of dozens of people. Difficult decisions have to be made all the time. Perhaps it is women who are the best snipers, because we are more stress-resistant. I constantly support my guys, and they courageously go into battle, knowing that I will always cover them ...

In this war, I saw almost everything: both children over the bodies of their dead parents, whom they unsuccessfully tried to “wake up”, and women who were raped by nonhumans from the enemy army. A few days ago, people close to me died - brothers, including my mentor. War is always losses, but even for me, a sniper, they are hard", - shares Evgenia.

Front needs

Nevertheless, activists and volunteers note that even today, women at the front sometimes do not receive basic assistance, and the needs of the army are formulated mainly according to the requests of men.

«Unfortunately, we do not have an understanding that a woman at the front should also be wearing body armor, that it should be lightweight, because 11 kilograms is not as easy for a woman to wear as a man. In addition, it must be adapted to the structure of the woman's body. However, men are still involved in the supply, and they do not take these points into account - as well as feminine hygiene products, sports underwear, and so on.", - explains Irina Suslova.

Her women's movement is trying to deliver everything necessary to the front, including cars, and at the same time is trying to draw the attention of not only volunteers, but also the military leadership to the needs of female fighters.

«Women serve on an equal footing, in the same conditions, perform the same combat missions as men, and it is important to take into account their needs.", - the people's deputy is sure.

Volunteers buy clothes, equipment and other things necessary for the military in many countries and deliver them to Lviv, and from there they are sent to Pokrovsk.

«Now Russian missiles are increasingly arriving at warehouses with humanitarian cargo, so we contact specific brigades in advance so that they pick up the aid intended for them. This greatly facilitates the delivery, since the situation at the front is such that volunteers are not allowed to go to the first line of defense themselves. This is not only dangerous for their lives, but also distracts the military, because instead of performing combat missions, they have to ensure the safety of civilian volunteers.", - explains Irina Suslova.

Irina does not hide: the delivery of goods is not as simple as it might seem. Volunteers do not have enough cars and fuel, and the forces of the volunteers themselves sooner or later dry up. The girls and women of the For the Future movement began collecting ammunition and humanitarian aid from the very first hours after the invasion - and continue to do so to this day.

Transfer to an ambulance group that picks up the wounded from the most difficult areas. Photo: press service of “Women for the Future”

The price of saved lives

Although the war is considered to be “not a woman’s” business, Irina Suslova assures that women cope with combat missions no worse than men. Moreover, even the psychological experience of the consequences of service and the process of returning to civilian life differs not depending on gender, but on what tasks the servicemen performed.

«As with men, this is purely individual. It all depends on what exactly the woman saw, what she encountered in the war. There is a big difference between whether a person was engaged in reconnaissance or killed, was engaged in supply in the rear or fought on the front line, was a miner or a sapper", - explains Irina.

As for the ability of men to respect "fighting sisters", according to Irina's observations, the situation in the war is not much different from civilian life.

«It happens very differently. It is not uncommon for women to be considered fighting friends and treated with respect, but there is also real chauvinism. It seems to me that it depends on how a man treats a woman in principle: to his mother, wife or daughter. But in any case, it will take time for men to get used to treating women in the army as equals.", - the activist notes.

However, volunteers in the war also have a hard time. Even as civilians, they experience the death of loved ones and mortal danger in the same way.

«I remember once we had to hand over valuable equipment and were constantly in touch with the military, who needed to hand over the goods. And suddenly we were told that he was no more. I couldn't believe it, because I had only spoken to him the night before. At such moments, you want to give up everything, just to never face something like this again. But then suddenly a girl calls you and says: “Thank you, your body armor saved my dad's life. It has three bullets in it." And you understand that you have no right to throw it away. If your help saves just one life, you can't leave no matter what.", - Irina is sure.

Transfer of assistance for the Nikolaev region. Photo: press service of “Women for the Future”

In a few months of a full-scale war, girls from the women's movement have already transferred 1100 tons of aid. Before the start of the war, the activists were engaged in promoting women's equality, helping vulnerable categories of the "fair sex": women with disabilities, rural residents, and so on. Against the background of the war, volunteers also help the civilian population.

«We have arranged delivery of baby food and diapers, including to war zones and occupied territories. For example, in the occupied Zaporozhye region, people simply do not have the opportunity to buy it. It happened that the invaders detained our drivers, interrogated them in the basements, and took away the cars. We cannot advertise where help is distributed, and information is distributed mainly by word of mouth. Each project is carefully prepared to keep people as safe as possible.", - explains Irina.

You can support the work of the movement "For Future" by sending funds to the current account UA133348510000000026003158782 in JSC "PUMB", GO "WOMEN'S RUKH "FOR MAIBUTNYE". Your donation, without exaggeration, can save more than one human life.

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