"Not Enough People to Fight"... Even a 60-Year-Old Ukrainian Woman Takes Up Arms

20-Month Long Battle... Enforcement of Law Changing Military Enlistment Age
Activation of Military Training Groups for Women

Ukraine, which has been fighting a war against Russia for over 20 months, is pursuing measures to mobilize more women to address the shortage of troops.

According to the US daily The New York Times (NYT) on the 8th (local time), since the Russian invasion, Ukraine has been gradually lifting restrictions on the enlistment age and positions for women.

Ukrainian female soldier in training
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Ukrainian women are not subject to conscription. However, as the war has become prolonged, Ukraine enacted a law last month registering women who have received medical training as 'conscription candidates.'

The upper age limit for enlistment was raised from the previous 40 to 60, the same as men. The range of positions was also expanded to include roles such as tank operators, machine gunners, snipers, and truck drivers.

At the beginning of Russia's invasion, Ukrainian women served as members of quasi-military organizations. But as the war has prolonged, the path has been opened for women to serve in the regular army as well.

A female Ukrainian soldier in training. [Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

Additionally, in this war, fields such as drone operators have emerged where physical differences between men and women do not affect performance but the roles are significant. This is interpreted as a reason for lowering restrictions on women's military enlistment.

In particular, although Western countries including the US have been steadily supplying Ukraine with advanced weapons and ammunition, the personnel to operate them must be mobilized within Ukraine. Moreover, the war that began on February 24 last year has continued for over 20 months, causing severe troop losses.

Lyubov Plaksik, the first female commander leading an artillery unit in Ukraine. She is a mother of one child and worked as a history teacher until 2016.
[Photo by Official Twitter of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense]

The number of women currently serving in the military has reached 43,000, an increase of about 40% compared to 2021 before Russia's invasion. Furthermore, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense explained that some of them are participating in actual combat on the southeastern front.

Volunteer organizations providing military training to Ukrainian women have also become active. 'Ukraine Valkyria' is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports women's training.

Earlier, due to the shortage of troops, Ukrainian men with asymptomatic tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and hepatitis were also classified as conscription candidates starting from August.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.