Over 5,000 female soldiers serve in war zone in Ukraine

The number of women serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has considerably increased since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Over 62,000 women are part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as of October 2023. This is 7.3% of the total number of Ukrainian forces, as reported by the Military Media Centre.

A total of 43,479 women serve in the military. They make up 5.3% of the total number of military personnel.

Servicewomen break down as follows:

officers – 7,709 (6.6% of the total);

NCOs – 11,732 (6.6%);

soldiers – 22,704 (4.4%);

cadets – 1,334 (18.1%).

A total of 18,583 women are civilian personnel, representing 48.2% of the whole.

There are 5,160 women in senior positions in the AFU, and 13,487 servicewomen have been granted combatant status.

Over 5,000 women are currently in the combat zone.

For comparison, the total number of women in the AFU back in 2014 stood at 49,926, including 16,557 servicewomen.

"We have the largest number of women on the battlefield in Ukraine in modern world history. They prove themselves not only as good military financiers or doctors but also as brave servicewomen faithfully defending their homeland," said Nataliia Kalmykova, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister.

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