Are pregnant women really conscripted into military service in Ukraine?

Pregnant women may not even be registered

“In Ukraine, even pregnant women are called up for military service – in mid-November announced one Facebook user. “It’s convenient – one call, and two soldiers.”

From October 1 doctors and pharmacists must register to military service.

This applies to doctors, nurses, residents, dentists, pharmacists aged 18-60. Not only the completed studies are taken into account, but also the current work.

Screenshot from Facebook/Pregnancy is a reason to avoid military service

Avoiding military service during the state of war currently in force in Ukraine carries a fine of 850 to 1,700 hryvnias (21.5-43 euros).

Registration is voluntary for those with a war-related occupation.

According to the armed forces, this is not a mobilizationonly an attempt to gather datawhat is the reserve of medical professionals. It is true that in the future these women may be called to the service or otherwise contribute to the defense of the country.

This is not a new thing – representatives of certain specialties were asked to register as recently as last year. A good year ago, a warning was circulated on social networks that the mobilization of women had been announced, but it did not mean conscription.

Also read: Women’s mobilization is not taking place in Ukraine: lies are spread with a blunder

According to the law, pregnant women and women with children must also come to the registration points, but for some, registration may be delayed.

Among them are pregnant women (regardless of the period of pregnancy, such a medical worker will be recognized as unfit for service); women on pregnancy and maternity leave; those who raise a child alone or have 3 or more minor children; raising a disabled child who, according to the relevant medical opinion, needs constant care; women whose husband is already serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Women who are registered but not called up can even go abroad. The government can restrict travel, but there is currently no such bill.

Sends special uniforms

Ten days later, another Facebook user responded to an article by the US website Business Insider about pregnant Ukrainian soldiers requesting special uniforms.

“Bulletproof vests for pregnant Ukrainians are Kremlin propaganda, no one sends pregnant women to the front”, – explained he who added the link to the essay on this web page.

Screenshot from Facebook/We don’t really send pregnant women to the front, but pregnant women also take part in the war

Article titled “Pregnant Ukrainian soldiers demand special uniforms to fit their growing bellies as they plan to continue serving until 7 months pregnant” was published back in the summer.

It tells the story of the charity organization Землячки (Zemliačky, Ukrainian: “Countries”), which helps to get dressed pregnant women.

Since the beginning of the war, the organization has bought about 30 specially made uniforms for pregnant soldiers, said its founders, spouses Andrijus Kolesnykas and Ksenija Drahaniuk.

Not only do they provide pregnant women with items they need on the battlefield, such as uniforms, custom shoes and hygiene products, but also documents the unique experience of Ukrainian military women.

MPs of Ukraine according tomore than 60 thousand people serve in the army. women, of which at least 5 thousand – in combat units. Even women who are not expecting are not easy at the front – some have to wear uniforms and shoes that are too big, missing hygiene products or others specific thingssuffering from certain female diseases.

Pregnant soldiers continue to serve in non-combat duties until they are 7 months pregnant. Upon finding out about the pregnancy, the soldier is immediately removed from any combat duty. A. Kolesnykas told about the sniper who hid her pregnancy for almost three months because she wanted to stay at the front as long as possible. But the danger and discomfort she experienced lying on her stomach near the front line for hours forced her to withdraw.

When Zemliačky announced that it was sending special uniform pants to soldiers that could accommodate growing bellies, the organization began to receive more requests from pregnant women.

The couple founded the charity when the husband’s sister Anastasia joined the army and sent a list of missing items. The spouses sent her the first “humanitarian box”, which contained a set of 30 different feminine hygiene products and medicines.

Screenshot from zemliachky.org/Zemliačky helped thousands of women defending Ukraine

After the couple started posting about the nonprofit on social media, their following grew, and word of mouth about helping the soldiers began to flood in with requests for items.

Within a few months of its launch, Zemliačky supported thousands of women in the military (8.5 thousand humanitarian boxes were prepared alone) and sent more than 200 million. armor, ammunition, helmets, clothing, footwear, first aid kits, hygiene products worth hryvnias (over 50 thousand euros).

“Zemliačky” also helps organize military weddings and honeymoons, and offers 10 free therapy sessions to women serving in the military.

The new life was betrayed by the disease

The aforementioned sniper was most likely Evgeniya Emerald, who married Yevgeniis Stipaniuks, whom she met on the front line, a good year ago, and soon after admitted that she was expecting.

For a while, she didn’t say anything about her pregnancy either to her husband or to her superiors remained to defend the homelandbut eventually gave up after falling ill toxicosis.

Instagram photo/Evgeniyos Emerald’s wedding moments

E.Emerald already had a daughter from a previous relationship. Until the beginning of the war, she was engaged in the jewelry business. When the Russian invasion began, she joined the Territorial Defense and then the Special Forces Regiment Safari.

A woman in March this year got into an accident.

Last year, the Russians captured Mariana Mamonova, a pregnant defender of the Mariupol metallurgical plant “Azovstal”. She regained her freedom only at the end of September, nine months pregnant, when Ukraine and Russia exchanged hundreds of prisoners.

Later, M. Mamonova, who was in captivity almost all the time from the moment she found out she was pregnant, almost until giving birth, told how he lived then.

Video frame of the Coordination Headquarters of Ukraine/Mariana Mamonova

The young woman ended up in the notorious Olenivka prison, where she had to sleep on the floor and was denied normal food and fresh air. It was only after I recovered my health and after consulting a doctor that the situation improved somewhat, but even in the last hours the torture continued at the hands of the Russians.

The second Facebook user was right when he wrote that there is a lot of Russian propaganda about pregnant Ukrainian soldiers (here, here, here).

Screenshot from M. Mamonova’s Facebook account/Marjana Mamonova with her husband Vasylis and daughter Ana

But this is not completely untrue. Although pregnant women are not only not sent to direct combat, but may not even be registered as potential combatants in the event that more population needs to be mobilized, pregnant soldiers exist even on the battlefield. Many of them got pregnant already in uniform, some found their second half only after starting their service.

15min verdict: missing context. In Ukraine, pregnant women are not called up for military service, but there are pregnant women even among the defenders of the country. These women become pregnant after taking up arms, only from that time they serve in non-combat duties and continue their service until 7 months of pregnancy.

The publication was prepared in 15 minutes in partnership with Metait aims to stop the spread of misleading news on the social network. More about the program and its rules – here.