Hi, I’m Hayka. I’ve never had anything to do with the military, and I never thought I’d join the armed forces! Particularly in Ukraine, in the Kherson region, but life has made such a pirouette that I have an AKSU in my hands and google searches on how to overcome PTSD in my browser.

Why did I join the army? After the 22nd I lost my home, the Russians completely occupied Luhansk region, and I evacuated to Western Ukraine. I tried to enlist in the first month of the invasion, but when I arrived at the Lviv Territorial Center of Recruitment, I was turned down and shoved out the door. Despite the rejection, my desire to fight did not disappear. I carried it inside me every day, and at some point this desire became like an overripe pomegranate that burst in the sun and the seeds flew out. Gradually, I quit all civilian projects and began to purposefully look for an opportunity to join the army and, overcoming many obstacles, found my place in the Defense Forces.

My future specialty is medicine. I want to spend my youth improving people’s health, treating them, doing medical training and noticing my improvements. I like the path I have chosen, doing things for myself, for people and for the country. I am not afraid of blood and needles, and the difficulties and challenges of life keep me going.

I also do not see the army as a “meat grinder”. It is a unique structure in its own way that I want to improve and bring to perfection. Despite the difficulties and terrible realities, my life in the army is bright, intense and active – I love it. And the workload is just right. I am a believer in a bright future, I have dreams and lyrical hopes that after the war is over, conclusions will be drawn about the role of women in war.

There will be women’s brigades, women will be offered all positions at the Territorial Center of Recruitment, not just office work, accounting and cooking (though these positions are also valuable). There will be no harassment or sexism. Women will be able to undergo specialized education and training, not just basic military training.

We want stability and peace. But in order to achieve this, you need a long period of time with the right to make mistakes and the possibility to correct, refine and make adjustments. We can only believe that we can survive this period of history.