Ukrainian women soldiers choose to fight Russia, not flee

• Girls make up about 15% of Ukraine’s military, in line with the Ukrainian authorities.
• Why keep? “It is what my Ukrainian blood tells me to do,” one soldier instructed USA TODAY.
• Hundreds of feminine Ukrainian troopers fought in earlier wars, together with World Wars I and II.

Simply final month, Olga Kovalenko moved into her first house in Kyiv, Ukraine, and acquired engaged to her longtime boyfriend. Now she spends mornings cleansing her rifles and pulling folks out of bomb-stricken properties. 

When Ukraine enacted martial legislation and banned males 18 to 60 years outdated from leaving the nation after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, Kovalenko knew she’d by no means forgive herself if she left her homeland. She referred to as her dad and mom and volunteered to affix Ukraine’s navy forces.