Does Ukraine send pregnant women to the frontline to fight Russians? No, that's not true: Pregnant women and women on maternity leave or caring for small children or children with special needs are exempted from registering for military service. They also have the right to be released, if already serving in the military, when they get pregnant or under other specific circumstances.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok by @agentkremlu on November 18, 2023. It opened (translated from Czech to English by Lead Stories staff):
Russian soldiers found a woman soldier from the Ukrainian Army. The girl got scared and said she is pregnant. Due to heavy losses, Zelenskyy sends women to the front line.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue Nov 21 22:39:17 2023 UTC)
Other examples of the video claiming that Ukraine sends pregnant women to the frontline can be found here and here.
As of October 1, 2023, Ukrainian women aged 18-60 who have a medical background must register at military enlistment offices. The point is to collect data on the available reserve of medical professionals. Women may be called up for military service or asked to perform work to ensure the state's defense. They perform military duties - a list of which can be found here - on an equal basis with men since the law does not distinguish between men and women.
According to Ukrainian legislation, pregnant women and those have children must still report to the TCC (ТЦК in Ukrainian - Територіальний центр комплектування та соціальної підтримки - Territorial center for recruitment and social support - a military administrative body that ensures the implementation of legislation on military duty and military service, mobilization training and mobilization) but being pregnant constitutes an exception which grants them a different treatment, making them "unfit" for service. In addition, they have a right to be released if already serving. Women can obtain a deferral from registration if they are pregnant or on maternity leave, if they are raising a child alone, if they have three or more minor children or are raising a disabled child who needs constant care, and if their husband is serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Pregnant servicewomen can submit the necessary documents to their commander and obtain the right to be dismissed from military service also during martial law.
There have been special cases of pregnant women who continue to serve (for example here or here), however, women who have been conscripted during mobilization have the right to be released from military service due to their pregnancy. Like civilian women, they are entitled to go on leave. Based on a medical certificate of pregnancy, women are granted maternity leave for 70 calendar days before and 56 calendar days after childbirth. Upon completion of maternity leave, at the request of a servicewoman, she is granted leave to care for her child until the child reaches the age of three. If possible and desired, she may return to service earlier.
Women have been included in Ukraine's military since 1993. Since September 6, 2018, women have become eligible for all military positions and ranks, with the same duties and opportunities as their male colleagues. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, more than 11,000 women have joined the Ukrainian army voluntarily. Of around 60,000 women in the Ukrainian army, approximately 5,000 of them serve in combat units working as paramedics, snipers, and in other roles.
A list of specialties or professions they can serve in can be found here.
There have been no reports of heavy Ukrainian losses in recent months (archived here). On the contrary, Russia is reportedly dealing with heavy losses, for example in Avdiivka and Maryinka. It has been reported that November 2023 has been the worst month for Russia casualty-wise, with over 900 dead or wounded per day.
The total amount of dead or wounded soldiers on both sides is approaching 500,000. There are no trustworthy official statements about losses from either side, but based on open source information it has been estimated that between 30 and 70+ thousand Ukrainian soldiers have died (over 24,000 have been confirmed), and more than 100,000 have been wounded. On the Russian side, estimates are about 120,000 dead and over 170,000 wounded.
The TikTok video has been labeled as fake by Spravdi, (Centre for Strategic Communication established under the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine to counter disinformation). According to them, the video was shared by Solovyov, a pro-Russian propagandist. In their analysis, they have pointed out that some elements suggest it has been staged: the woman's uniform is clean despite fighting at the frontline, and she has no weapon or other typical equipment such as kneepads, plates in her vest, or a belt, which are usually provided to soldiers. Also, no explosions or gunfire can be heard in the video, which is unusual as it has been purportedly shot at the frontline.
Lead Stories has debunked another false claim about Ukrainian female fighters here.
