The European publication spoke about the fate of female fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
European edition Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa published a report written with a grant from the Soros Foundation about three women who took part in the fighting in the Donbass: about Roksolana, who came from Crimea, Yulia, a Russian, a native of Pyatigorsk, and Belka, a Jew from Dnepropetrovsk. “The situation of women in almost all regions leaves much to be desired, and in some areas it is catastrophic: they do not receive uniforms in women’s sizes, equal salaries to men, or social services; and they receive almost no recognition from their male colleagues,” says Maria Berlinskaya, who interviewed women as part of a gender study by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
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“A forty-five-year-old Crimean woman with the call sign Roksolana serves in a reconnaissance company stationed in Popasnaya, near Slavyansk, alone among twenty men.” “At first she went as a volunteer, now, because she doesn’t want to live in Russia, she lives in a dirty barracks with men.” “She has no children; a gift from her niece, a wooden angel, hangs above her bed.”
“Just a month ago, Ukraine passed a law recognizing the service of women in the army in combat specialties. Already demobilized from the army, Belka found herself in a deplorable situation. In the Aidar battalion, where she went to pick up her friend Yulia, Belka received several injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, due to which her hands tremble and she gradually loses her memory. Therefore, she cannot return to the army. But the worst thing is that she, a sniper and gunner, was assigned to the maintenance staff, so she did not receive “combat” pay, and the salary was only seven thousand hryvnia instead of twelve. For the same reason, she cannot apply for any benefits or status as a participant in hostilities. Now she and Yulia live in an apartment on the outskirts of Kyiv on unemployment benefits, child benefits and donations from volunteers. In addition to the tattoo “Heroes don’t die!” Belka has “All people are equal” tattooed in Hebrew on her arm.
“Russian Yulia is much more impulsive and aggressive than the flexible Belka. She took part in the Russian nationalist movement before Euromaidan. Maidan made her an ardent Ukrainian nationalist, and she went to fight in Aidar, where she became a tank commander. She would have gladly stayed at the front, but she gave birth to Miroslav, on whose support she now lives. He does not maintain any relations with his Russian family. This year, she participated in the gay pride parade held in Kyiv not only because of her active civic position, but also because she is in an intimate relationship with a woman, which greatly discouraged her fellow nationalists who declare traditional values.”
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