Natalia Lishchyshena is a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war who now works as a specialist, supporting military personnel and veterans to address legal and social issues, after she was injured by the body armour she was wearing on the way to a warzone.
Despite facing constant setbacks, Natalia has become the first woman in Ukraine to prove the harm standard-issue body armour, designed for men, can cause to the female body, after receiving official recognition from the medical commission. In this story, she shares why protective equipment needs to be adapted for women in the military.
“I was born into a military family. My father was a serviceman, and I always wanted to be like him. After he finished his service, our family settled in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. When Russia started hostilities in our region in 2014, I decided to stay in Luhansk region because my father was ill and needed care.
I dreamt of becoming a lawyer. At the age of 38, I started studying law. Later, I volunteered for military service. My husband supported my decision. In 2021, I signed a contract with the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade. I was 40 years old. We did not believe that a full-scale war would start. But on February 24, 2022, at 4am, we were woken up by an alarm: the first explosions, airborne troops, confusion. We did not understand who was ours and who was the enemy. The beginning of the full-scale invasion found us in the south, in the Mykolaiv region.
