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Chief military adviser calls on Ukraine to mobilize women

Oksana Grigoryeva urged Ukraine to adopt an Israeli-style female conscription policy

MOSCOW, April 10. /TASS/. Ukrainian women must go for military service and get ready for combat, Ukraine’s chief military adviser for gender issues, Oksana Grigoryeva, said as she criticized the exemption of women from the mobilization as "old-school mentality."

"Our constitution states that it is the duty of every Ukrainian to protect their homeland, so it is only right that women serve too," Grigoryeva, adviser on gender issues to the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said in an interview with The Times.

She urged Ukraine to adopt an Israeli-style female conscription policy. "We have come a long way in terms of legislation, but in practice there is still this old-school mentality. <...> Like Israel, we have to be prepared for this and that means training up both men and women to be ready for war," she pointed out.

According to The Times, as many as 65,000 women are currently serving in the Ukrainian army, a 40% rise from 2021. And nearly all of them are volunteers, the newspaper added.

Ukraine announced a general mobilization in February 2022, which it has extended periodically ever since. The country has also been struggling to recruit fresh troops. Ukrainian lawmakers are currently debating a second reading of a bill on tightening mobilization rules.

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