On 6 March 2026, Alina Rohach, Project Manager of the Spain and Latin America Cooperation Program at the Transatlantic Dialogue Center, Bohdana Batsko, Project Assistant of the same program, and Olha Kvashuk, “Europe and the World” Program Manager at the International Renaissance Foundation, commented for a column by Israel López Gutiérrez published in El Heraldo (a Mexican national daily newspaper).
The column highlights how Ukrainian women’s role has expanded during Russia’s full-scale war: alongside work and family responsibilities, women are increasingly active in volunteering, medicine, civil society leadership, public life, and military service. The article notes that around “70,000” women are currently serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
Batsko stressed that women’s role in Ukraine has been growing since 2014, and described the “double burden” many women carry — caring for children and managing households while also working to provide income as men serve in the armed forces. She also noted that many young women join the military as a values-based choice and with a clear understanding that the outcome of the war depends on women as well, not only men.
Rohach enfatizó que la guerra ha acelerado los cambios en los roles de las mujeres en la sociedad ucraniana, superando limitaciones vinculadas al legado soviético. Subrayó que las mujeres en las Fuerzas Armadas no se limitan a funciones administrativas: muchas sirven en la línea del frente y en puestos de liderazgo. También señaló el creciente liderazgo femenino en la diplomacia pública, incluido el aumento del número de mujeres que ejercen como embajadoras.
Read the full El Heraldo column via the link.
This project was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation.