Out of more than 400.000 soldiers currently serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, about 20% are women. The majority serve in supporting roles. We meet a sniper and an infantry soldier from the Ukrainian army - they're both women and had to fight for their right to fight Russia.



Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

In the Ukrainian armed forces, which currently consist of over 400,000 soldiers, approximately 20% are women. A large portion of these women serve in supporting roles within the military structure. This story brings to the forefront the experiences of two female soldiers who have taken on frontline roles. One serves as a sniper, and the other is an infantry soldier. Their journey to the frontline highlights not only their battle against Russian forces but also their struggle against sexism within the military to earn their right to fight.



Women fight sexism as well as Russia in Ukraine's army

One shot, one kill. Meet Aleksandra. She used to work in a bakery. Now she's a sniper. Today she shows us what she does on a 100-metre range somewhere in central Ukraine. At the front line, her targets can be more than a kilometre away. Her job takes skill and a certain mindset. Well, I see my enemy. I see the occupier who came to our land to destroy our state, our people, nothing more. She says many still question her ability to do this, because she's a woman. Women have long served in the Ukrainian armed forces, but few take part in combat. The woman who shot this video is another one. It's last fall near Avdiivka. Ukrainian soldiers are holding line against a Russian onslaught. After hours of battle, they bring their wounded to safety. We meet Olena in Donbass region. When not fighting, she stays in a village. She says joining the war changed her life. Here I feel life on my tongue, on my lips. I feel much more than I did in civilian life. Before the war, she was a communication trainer in Kiev. A few months into the full-scale invasion, she signed up. She felt she'd ignored the war for too long. Now Olena clears trenches with the infantry. She had to push for a frontline job. He asked me, do you really want a combat position? It's difficult. And not all commanders accept girls in combat positions. I said, I don't care what's going on with the commanders. I don't care how hard it is. I know for sure that I can. Women have been allowed to serve in combat roles since 2018. But not everyone sees their worth on the battlefield. Olena says her experiences are overall good, but she too had to prove to her comrades she was a good fighter. I have never heard such words of admiration towards me. Everyone told me the same thing. Olena, you have bigger balls than some of our guys. You're one of the best, because what you did there deserves a lot of respect. And after that, everything changed. She has been decorated for her courage by President Zelensky. Yet it's not all bravado. She's used social media posts to show her reality of the war. This video was recorded after a battle, with heavy losses. Be cursed, everyone who's behind this. Back in central Ukraine, sniper Alexandra takes us to the temporary flat she shares with her husband, who also joined up. Her theory is that gender stereotypes can become self-fulfilling. Unfortunately, men, probably without realizing it themselves, with their exaggerated care and attitude towards women, make women calmer, prevent them from becoming stronger and being equal with them. As a sniper, where you need to be invisible, she says being as small as she is can be an advantage. And women in general can be less emotionally driven than men, she suggests. They are not only less aggressive, but also think more about each task. That is, they do not do it suddenly, but try to think it over, analyze it, and carry it out with a cool head, thinking more about safety and those around them. That's not a view shared by many in the military. Every woman in the army has to show that she is worthy to be in the same combat position and fight on an equal footing with a man. That's something infantry soldier Elena has also had to do. She says she has been accepted by her peers, but two years into the war, as Ukraine struggles to fill the ranks, many women who want to follow her example have a fight on their hands to do so.

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Bogotá

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

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Council of the City of Sydney

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Canberra

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Odesa

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Ukraine Invasion