Featured Image Credit: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP
Topics: Ukraine, Russia, World News
Rufus Thompson
A woman who first volunteered to join Ukraine’s armed forces in 2017 has become the first female volunteer to be made army lieutenant.
Iryna Sergeyeva, 39, previously worked as a media relations professional before signing up as a reservist to defend Ukraine in 2017.
Now, she’s become the first woman to receive a full military contract, and continues to fight for her country amid Vladimir Putin’s ongoing attack.
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Iryna is reportedly working as a chief volunteer forces organiser for her district of Kyiv, meaning she’s witnessing first-hand the crowds of Ukrainians of all ages and backgrounds signing up to fight.
Although she’s encouraged by the influx of volunteers willing to help in Ukraine, the PR specialist warns that the reality of war isn’t something to be taken lightly.
While holding a Kalashnikov rifle in an underground garage that has been turned into an impromptu military training base in Kyiv, Iryna said as per Daily Mail: "In the first days, a lot of young women came wanting to get their hands on a rifle so that they could go out and fight.
"I understood that many of these young women were romanticising everything a little bit. Their heroic spirits were stirring.
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"They were telling themselves they were about to go out and fight without really understanding how it all works. I had to nod my head while gently telling them, ‘No, you might not be suited for this’."
After pausing and smiling, she continued: “But then this was also true with some of the guys.”
The news arrives as Russian forces continue to close in on Kyiv, with a 40-mile-long convoy of military vehicles that appear to have dispersed around the capital city.
As shown in satellite images captured by US satellite company Maxar Technologies, the armoured vehicles have spread into towns and countryside areas close to the capital.
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Now that Putin looks to be approaching Kyiv, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his concerns that Russia might deploy chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Speaking with Sky News, Johnson said that using chemical weapons would be ‘right out of Russia’s playbook’.
The PM also said that the only way that the war between Ukraine and Russia will end is if Putin admits that he’s made a ‘catastrophic mistake’.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.