Almost 70 thousand women are serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of January 2024. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine during a meeting with the Canadian Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security Jacqueline O'Neill, UNN reports.
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At a meeting with Canadian Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security Jacqueline O'Neill, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Natalia Kalmykova also emphasized the importance of increasing the number of women in leadership positions in the Armed Forces.
Current statistics (as of January of this year - ed.) show that 66.9 thousand women serve in the Armed Forces, of whom 47.2 thousand are military personnel. Of these, 6.5 thousand hold senior positions, and 4 thousand are on the contact line.
We continue to implement a policy of attracting, developing and retaining human capital, an important component of which is the principles of gender equality in the armed forces. Legally, we have virtually no obstacles today. Now our task is to implement these norms in practice. It is not only about providing women with uniforms and creating living conditions. We have formed a policy on the use of gender-sensitive language, are launching leadership courses for women servicewomen, and are increasing the level of control over violations of the rights of women servicewomen.
Nataliia Kalmykova and Jacqueline O'Neill also discussed the issue of expanding cooperation between Ukraine and Canada to ensure the principles of gender equality in the military and medical support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular by combining diplomatic efforts.
We are constantly learning from you and understand how difficult it is to implement reforms during a time of war. We want to make sure that Ukraine receives the best possible support in its efforts to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda. We are your partners, you can rely on us.