From the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ukraine lives and resists not only through the soldiers in the trenches, but also through the women who, behind the front lines, keep the country alive. They are around 30 years old – the generation born in a free Ukraine, raised in the chaos of the ’90s and matured by revolutions and war. Today, they are the ones who raise funds for the army, run NGOs, advocate for their country in world capitals, or wear military uniforms.
Unlike their men, who cannot leave the country and can be mobilized into the army, Ukrainian women can choose: to leave or to stay, to fight or not. But each choice comes with a dose of guilt, fatigue, mourning, and questions about the future – whether and when to have children in a country bombed daily, writes The Guardian.
“You do what needs to be done, not what makes sense”
Maria Shuvalova, 32 years old, is an academic editor. But in recent years, her life has had nothing to do with the academic routine. After the invasion in 2022, she raised over $40,000 to buy bulletproof vests – the equivalent of the price of her apartment. She converted the money into cryptocurrencies and sent it to a factory in China.
In addition to her daily work, she volunteers a few hours a week at a military unit, writes a book, works on a post-apocalyptic novel, and talks to foreign press about Ukraine. “There is no professional logic to doing so many things at once,” she says, “but you just do it. Because you have to.”
Born in 1993, Maria was marked by the poor transition of the ’90s, when families struggled to put food on the table. “I learned early on to fend for myself. Our parents worked non-stop, and we, the children, followed them. I grew up in a world without vacations, but with a lot of responsibility.”
Her generation, says Maria, was trained from an early age for crisis. “Those who are now 30-35 years old in Ukraine have learned from childhood to manage stress, to take risks, to do ten things at once. It was not a choice, but a form of survival.”
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