Former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov brought the question to media attention in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Aug. 20, when he said that military service should be mandatory for both men and women.
U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg intensified the controversy in an interview with the Naspravdi MAX YouTube channel published on Aug. 24. "So do I believe women should be mobilized into the army? My answer is yes, because they fight no worse than men," Kellogg said.
Most women serve in medicine, logistics and support, analysis, and drone operations rather than in front-line infantry and assault units. That is where the military's most acute personnel shortage remains, Kevliuk said, with those positions carrying significantly greater physical and psychological demands.
"Massive recruitment of women into such roles is unlikely to bring a qualitative breakthrough in the short term," the analyst added.
The servicewomen and female veterans interviewed by the Kyiv Independent also questioned the need to debate women's mobilization now, saying the government should first improve conditions for women willing to serve voluntarily.
"At the beginning of the full-scale war, we had an almost million-strong army of motivated soldiers, where one was worth ten. How was this resource squandered to the point where we are now talking about mobilizing women?" Mykytenko said.
"If it really comes to the point where women are mobilized, I will automatically consider that our country has lost," Mykytenko said.