Women Can Do It!: VETERANKA launches a large-scale awareness campaign dedicated to servicewomen

Today, over 70,000 Ukrainian women serve in the military. They fight on equal terms, command units and companies, operate drones and artillery, and evacuate the wounded from under fire. Among them are thousands of defenders proving every day that being a woman in the military means strength, resilience, and responsibility. It means carving your own path despite stereotypes and doubt—and never giving up, because women can.

To mark the Defenders Day, VETERANKA launched a large-scale awareness campaign, Women Can Do It!, to spotlight those whose service and courage often remain in the shadows.

The campaign’s main mission is to break stereotypes about women in the army, reshape public perception of their role in Ukraine’s Defense Forces, and highlight their professionalism while emphasizing respect and support within both military and civilian communities.

The campaign appears in two formats: one is social advertising through posters in Kyiv’s metro, citylights, billboards in Kyiv and Lviv, and railway stations across Ukraine. The photo project was created with well-known photographers Vlada and Kostyantyn Liberov, capturing servicewomen at work in the hottest frontline areas.

The main heroes of the project are servicewomen holding various combat positions, defending Ukrainian lands on equal footing with men:

• Dzvenislava “Magura” — combat officer, 47th OMBR, commanded a Bradley combat vehicle in 2024;
  
• Anastasiya Miskevych — captain, artillery battery commander, 32nd OMBR;
  
• Olga “Vidma” — deputy battalion commander for artillery, 241st OBR TRO;
  
• “Yunga” — UAV operator, “Rubizh” brigade NGU, destroyed over 250 enemy targets since 2023;
  
• Britney Shki-Hiizis “Zhuk” — FPV drone pilot, former tank gunner, 25th OPDBR DShV, citizen of Canada.
  

The photo layouts challenge common misconceptions about women in the military, experiences that VETERANKA sisters face during their service. Each stereotype gets a direct answer:

• “Women don’t belong in the army!” – But the Bradley won’t drive itself;
  
• “What is she doing there?” – Commanding an artillery battery;
  
• “Did she join just to shoot?” – No, with mortars, howitzers, MLRS, and more.
  

The campaign also includes a video highlighting unity and sisterhood, showing how servicewomen come together to claim their place in the military. The video will air on the National Telethon “United News,” in cinemas, shopping center screens, TSUM and other locations in Kyiv, as well as on trains and at stations across Ukraine. Active servicewomen and veterans from the VETERANKA community participated in the filming.

“For us, the most important thing is to tell the stories of our brave women at war. Their daily heroism often remains in the shadows of large groups of men. It shouldn’t. We collected stories of defenders proving every day that women can do it. And these women are an inspiring example—for other women, and for men too. Every woman in the military is a volunteer who chose to take responsibility for the country into her own hands. Yet women constantly have to prove themselves, not just serve alongside their comrades. Being a woman in the army means facing doubts from others every day. It’s important for us to communicate with society and make their contributions visible, so these doubts and stereotypes stop poisoning an already challenging service,” — comments VETERANKA head, combat medic Kateryna Pryimak.

To support servicewomen, VETERANKA also launched a fundraising campaign for Maul armored evacuation capsules—“life capsules”—with a goal of 4 million UAH. This is Ukraine’s only robotic ground system with armored capsules capable of evacuating the wounded safely even from the most dangerous zones. Donations can be made here: https://send.monobank.ua/jar/2KcXt3vEqd.

VETERANKA sincerely thanks all partners supporting the campaign: Kyiv City State Administration, JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, military training ground Center Plus, MEGAPOLIS+, Team A, Baker Street Sound Studio, Planet Kino cinema network, TSUM Kyiv.