As Russian President Vladimir Putin mobilizes more troops and escalates his war in Ukraine, a delegation of all-female Ukrainian soldiers is in Washington D.C. this week to meet with lawmakers to share their stories and perspectives on what it’s like to be on the frontlines.
The goal of the meeting is to thank the U.S. for its support against Russia and to ask for additional help, especially as Ukraine anticipates continued fighting during the cold, bitter winter ahead. So far, the U.S. has given more than $15.8 billion in security assistance to help Ukraine.
“Our people in the occupied territories have problems with heating, with electricity and with food supplies,” said Daria Zubenko, a 35-year-old senior sergeant in the Ukrainian military, who is in the U.S. as part of the delegation. “To end this job, to liberate all our territories, we need more heavy weapons and air defense systems.”
Andriana Arekhta, a 34-year-old leader of the Veteran Women’s Movement in Ukraine, added, “Winter is coming. And it is not just [about] life, it is [about] surviving.”
The delegation, which is made up of four Ukrainian women, will meet with lawmakers in several congressional committees, including the U.S. Committee on Armed Forces, the House Committee of Appropriations and the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The trip is being funded by the International Republican Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that is pushing for democracy worldwide.
Ukrainian women soldiers have played an increasingly pivotal role since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly seven months ago, which has claimed the lives of nearly 6,000 civilians. Women make up nearly 25 percent of the Ukrainian armed forces, up nearly 10 percent since the invasion began. In comparison, just 17 percent of armed forces in the U.S. are women.
Gender roles have been evolving quickly in the Ukrainian army. In 2014, when Russia first invaded Crimea, Ukrainian women were forbidden serve in combat positions, though some found their way around the legal restrictions. But in 2018, Ukraine adopted legislation that gave women the same status as men in the armed forces.
Zubenko said much of the Ukrainian motivation from women soldiers comes from a place of protecting their children. “We don’t want this life for ourselves and for our children. And we don’t want to give this war to our children for them to continue. So, we need to end it ourselves.”
Chobaniuk Ivanna, another member of the all-female delegation noted, “The most terrifying scene [from the front lines] is injured children. Russia was shelling our cities … and I saw injured children. I cannot forget their faces. I can’t forget the face of an 8-year-old little girl. Ivanna, a 29-year-old serving as the head of the medic unit in Ukraine, added, “Fortunately we saved her arm and her life. And she is alive right now. But that was the most terrifying [scene] for me.”
When asked what she has learned as a woman on the frontlines, Arekhta explained, “I learned that Ukrainian women are a phenomenon in the world … I also learned that [women] must work harder … to be professional and to be equal with men.” Arekhta stepped away from the armed forces in 2015 when she was five months pregnant but returned to the frontlines in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Now she serves alongside her husband and other relatives.
Yaryna “Yara” Chornoguz, a senior corporal and combat medic, who is also here in the U.S. to talk to lawmakers, said she lost her boyfriend at war in 2020 and promised to defend Ukraine to commemorate him. Chornoguz, 27, been serving for three years now.
The four women in the delegation said one of their primary goals is also to show their gratitude to U.S.
“I’m here to say thank you. I want to say thank you because U.S. weapons changed the character of war,” said Arekhta.
“We will [continue to] fight,” Zubenko added. “And we are really thankful for American weapons because it completely changed the picture of the frontlines.”
When asked what it’s like being a woman on the frontlines, Zubenko simply stated that “for me, it’s just my job.”
She added, “We fight for freedom. We fight for democracy. We fight for [our] values that Americans share.”
Lauren Boone