More than 10,000 civilians have died since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022. Many hoped the fighting would be shortlived, however, the conflict, now in its third year, has evolved into a war of attrition.
On a rainy day in February, Antonina Danylevich, the wife of a Ukrainian soldier, joined a few dozen women, gathered in Kyiv to call for shorter terms of service for soldiers mobilised on the frontline since the first days of the war.
"My husband has been in the combat zone for two years. In all this time he only had 30 days off. Our men should be replaced, they should have time to rest. And after that, if they want to go back, then fine,” Antonina told Euronews.
An absence hard-felt
Every Saturday, in a secret location at the edge of the Ukrainian capital, groups of women partake in military training sessions, under the aegis of 'Ukraine Walkyrie'.
Daryna Trebukh founded the association after Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv region in March 2022. “After what happened in Bucha and Irpin, our women were defenceless, they were under occupation and they didn't know how to protect themselves. So I decided to start this school of survival, to teach women how to defend themselves,” she explained.
Daryna and her trainees expect a long-lasting war. Kateryna told Euronews her husband has been on the frontline for two years: “My daughter will turn 14 in a few months, the age at which she’s allowed to start military training, not with real weapons, but with strikeballs for instance”.
“I wish it wasn't, but war could well be part of her future”, she sighed after finishing a shooting drill.
Waiting in the wings
Ukrainian students are also learning to adapt to the war. In one of the research labs at the prestigious Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, 20-year-old Ivan and his team are busy assembling an electronic stretcher that can be controlled remotely and one day, used to transport wounded soldiers away from the frontline.
“It takes three or four people to carry a wounded soldier with equipment, but with this, you just place him on the stretcher and drive him away remotely,” explained Ivan.
Beyond participating in the war effort, the students have ambitions for the future. “We are gaining skills with this project. My dream is to help develop Ukraine and create modern enterprises, to produce new and competitive things. We have huge potential” he added.
One of the budding sectors of the future is drone manufacturing. Hundreds of drone factories have sprung up all over Ukraine in the past two years.
Airlogix gave Euronews a tour; approximately thirty surveillance and reconnaissance drones are dispatched from its factory every month.
“They allow our armed forces to fly deep into enemy lines and identify enemy equipment, such as air defence systems, electronic warfare, armoury, warehouses, and so on,” said CEO Vitalii Kolisnichenko.
“You need to be technologically advanced in this war. We consider drones to be key to our victory.”
In the long run, Kolisnichenko believes drones could become a top Ukrainian export and help drive the country's economy: “I think eventually, Ukraine will become the centre of unmanned technologies, for the whole world.”
