Ukraine unveils military uniforms for women after complaints that ill-fitting men's clothes hindered them on the frontline

Nathan Rennolds
Updated ·2 min read
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  • The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has approved a summer field uniform for female soldiers.

  • It said on Saturday that summer-service uniforms for female soldiers were "officially" in service.

  • Ukraine's defense minister said they were also working to introduce women's bulletproof vests.

Ukraine has approved military clothing for female soldiers for the first time ever, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said.

The ministry said on Saturday that it had approved summer-service uniforms for female soldiers and that they were now "officially" in service.

Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said that the uniforms would soon be supplied to Ukrainian troops, adding that they were also working to introduce women's bulletproof vests.

"We already have the first samples of women's body armor. They are being studied for compliance with the technical specification. After all the relevant tests and approvals, we will approve the prototypes of bulletproof vests," he said.

"In the end, our defenders will be able to receive not only field uniforms but also personal protective equipment in accordance with their anthropometric data," he added.

 

The defense ministry said that there were about 42,000 women serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including about 5,000 on the front lines.

Despite this, there had previously been no standard uniform for the nation's female soldiers, and women had for years received men's jackets, pants, and even underwear, CBS News reported.

"The most important problem for women in the army is the lack of women's belongings, such as uniforms, underwear and shoes. All things are in male style," Olga Ushakova, a female soldier, told the outlet.

"Sizes often are larger, and all things have to be hemmed," she added.

One Ukrainian soldier also told The Daily Beast that women often had to "stumble in men's shoes that are too big" or run in "huge pants" that slow them down.

"But the hardest is to run in the army's standard, 30-pound-bulletproof vest — which just never fits snugly to the body with boobs like mine," the soldier said.

Read the original article on Business Insider