Ukraine needs soldiers. However, only men are obliged. A military advisor called for compulsory military service in the Ukraine war - including for women.
Kiev – Women are in the minority in military service worldwide. Both voluntary service and especially the drafting of women into military service is still a rarity globally. Around 20 countries currently allow women and men to be required to serve as weapons. Particularly in times of crisis, the conditions of compulsory military service are often renegotiated. Ukraine has been at war with its Russian aggressor for more than two years and is now considering
conscription for women, according to reports in Britain's
Sunday Times .
Ukraine's chief military adviser on gender issues, Oksana Grigorieva, called for the introduction of compulsory military service for women based on the Israeli model. The “old-fashioned mentality” towards the role of women in war must be discarded, said Grigorieva in an interview with the newspaper.
In making the demand, Grigorieva cited the Ukrainian constitution, which states that "it is the duty of every Ukrainian to protect his homeland, so it is only right that women also serve," she told the
Sunday Times
. Ukraine, like Israel, must be prepared to be repeatedly attacked by its “neighbor” and this means, the military advisor explained, “that we have to train both men and women for war.”
Scandinavian countries are European pioneers in conscription for women
There are also pioneers in Europe when it comes to conscription for women, albeit only a few. After Norway and Sweden, Denmark has become the third European country to introduce compulsory military service for women,
Politico
reported . Not least against the background of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Norway decided to take this step in 2015 and Sweden followed suit in 2017. Sweden and Norway are the only countries where the same rules apply to women and men regarding compulsory military service.
Israel's model, which Grigorieva refers to in her call for equal rights for women and men in military service, also does not provide complete equality for men and women in military service. Military service for women there lasts two years. For men it is eight months longer. And the use also differs, as a report by the
Tagesspiegel
showed. In January 2024, a woman was said to have been involved in a combat mission in the Gaza Strip for the first time.
65,000 women in the Ukraine war: restrictions have been lifted
According to the Ukrainian government, there are currently 65,000 women in the Ukrainian armed forces. 40 percent more than in 2021 and all on a voluntary basis. The increase in the number of women is less than that of men. According to
a
New York Times
report, the number of male military personnel has tripled since 2021.
The Ukrainian government had already lifted some restrictions on women serving in military service during the course of the war. These include restrictions that previously prevented women from roles such as machine gunner, tank commander and sniper. So far, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not called for women to be called up. However, the importance of women in the Ukraine war is increasing.
Zelensky's reform: compulsory registration for Ukrainian women with medical training
As early as November 2023 ,
the New York Times
reported that in the wake of the debate about recruiting soldiers for the Ukrainian war, efforts were also underway to recruit more Ukrainian women into the army. In Ukraine, for example, there are volunteer groups that offer training in the use of weapons exclusively for women.
In October 2023, the Ukrainian presidential government also issued a new law requiring women with medical training to register for service with offices.
New controversial laws on mobilizing soldiers for Ukraine war
In recent months there has been repeated discussion about the lack of ammunition in Ukraine, but also about the need to mobilize new armed forces for the war. Just on Thursday (April 11), the Ukrainian parliament passed a controversial mobilization reform to mobilize more recruits to defend against Putin's army. The reform followed a recent law lowering the conscription age for men from 27 to 25.
The new reform, on the one hand, tightens the penalties for ignoring a draft and draft notice and also obliges Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 to carry their military passport with them during the current martial law. The reforms do not contain any new regulations for women.
Ukraine needs soldiers: conscientious objectors and fewer and fewer volunteers
Fewer men are reportedly volunteering in Ukraine. According to
the
Tagesschau
, tens of thousands of men fled abroad with fake documents despite the ban on leaving the country. Since the beginning of the war, the public prosecutor's office has initiated over 46,000 cases of desertion and unauthorized removal from the troops. If women were required to do military service, they would also be banned from leaving the country.
There was still a small proportion of women in combat operations in the Ukraine war
So far,
less than a tenth of women serving in the Ukrainian military are engaged in active combat operations, according to
the Sunday Times
. Only since 2018 have women been allowed to take up combat positions. “We have come a long way in terms of legislation, but in practice there is still this old-school mentality,” Grigorieva said. The military advisor explained that she still sees a need to catch up not only in legislation, but also in Ukrainian society when it comes to the role of women, including in war.
(pav)