At a training ground on the edge of Kyiv, a group of women ran through an obstacle course and fired Kalashnikov rifles as they tested specially designed military uniforms that will allow them to engage in combat comfortably.
Women Warriors Of Ukraine Fight For Military Uniforms That Fit
Ukrainian cadets, wearing new military uniforms, take part in a training exercise on the outskirts of Kyiv on July 12. The event was to simulate combat conditions in specially designed clothing that is suited for female fighters.
There are more than 42,000 women serving in Ukraine's armed forces, with an estimated 5,000 of them serving in combat units. All of them have been issued male uniforms. The Arm Women Now social initiative used donations to create and sew several thousand uniforms to fit servicewomen, which it gives to soldiers for free.
Servicewomen usually have to get baggy outfits or source women's uniforms from other countries' forces.
A female Ukrainian cadet, wearing a new military uniform, has her hair braided.
The most popular sizes are XS and XXS. All of Ukraine's women soldiers could soon benefit from the new design.
"I would like all women to get the uniform," said the project's founder, Iryna Nykorak, a member of the Ukrainian parliament for Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity party. Her NGO is negotiating with the Defense Ministry to provide the uniforms as standard issue.
An instructor helps a cadet wearing the new military uniform run through an obstacle course at the training ground outside Kyiv.
Female cadets train near Kyiv. "It's quite difficult for girls to find the right underwear to feel comfortable in," Nykorak said. "Underwear for combat missions, which is used by the military, is different from that worn by civilians," she added.
"It seems to me that if a woman has taken up arms and is defending her home, her family, and her country, then she should at least have a comfortable uniform," Nykorak said.
Female Ukrainian cadets wear the new military uniforms designed specially for women.