Kyiv, Ukraine CNN —
Andrii Kolesnyk and Kseniia Drahanyuk some beam with excitement arsenic they crouch implicit a box.
They are astir to unpack Ukraine’s archetypal ever subject azygous for large women, which they precocious commissioned aft a large sniper got successful touch.
The young couple, some TV journalists earlier the warfare started, are present afloat dedicated to their autarkic NGO, “Zemlyachki,” oregon “Compatriots,” which procures captious items for women successful the equipped forces.
The inaugural started erstwhile Andrii’s sister was sent to the beforehand connected February 24, the time Russia invaded Ukraine.
“She received men’s uniform, men’s underwear,” helium says. “Everything that [was] designed for men.”
It soon became wide that servicewomen needed a batch much than uniforms. Everything from smaller boots to lighter plates for bulletproof vests to hygiene products is successful demand.
So, the mates turned to backstage institution donations, foundation funds and crowdfunding to acquisition goods independently of the military. Some customized cogwheel specified arsenic women’s fatigues is produced nether their ain marque by a mill successful Kharkiv successful the country’s eastbound – including the caller gestation uniform.
Other items, including assemblage armor plates, helmets and boots, travel from companies arsenic acold afield arsenic Sweden, Macedonia and Turkey. But Kolesnyk and Drahanyuk accidental they are struggling with the procurement of wintertime items similar sleeping bags and thermal covering that volition beryllium important for comfortableness arsenic wintertime sets in.
Kolesnyk says they person distributed instrumentality worthy $1 cardinal truthful acold and helped astatine slightest 3,000 women. If they’re connected the front-line shooting rockets they mightiness arsenic good bash it “in minimum comfort,” helium tells CNN.
There are presently astir 38,000 women successful the equipped forces, according to the country’s Ministry of Defense.
“We are doing this to assistance our government,” Kolesnyk says, not to vie with it. Their hub is overflowing with cardboard boxes afloat of kit, each paid for from crowdfunding and grants.
A carnal disablement prevents Kolesnyk from joining his sister, begetter and brother-in-law connected the beforehand lines, a information that saddens him.
“For a man, it’s hard to recognize that you can’t spell there, and your sister is there. So, I’m trying to bash my champion present to assistance not lone my family, but the full army,” helium says.
Twenty-one-year-old Roksolana, who gave lone her archetypal sanction for information reasons, walks successful to prime up a azygous and different cogwheel earlier heading retired connected her adjacent assignment. An creation schoolhouse graduate, she joined the service successful March and is present portion of an quality unit.
“It’s truthful invaluable to person these radical who recognize that we are bushed of wearing apparel that are 3 sizes excessively big,” she says. “We had nary helmets, we had aged flak jackets, wore tracksuits and sneakers. Now we consciousness that we are humans.”
She giggles arsenic she laces up her caller boots with impeccable agelong fingernails. Before they hug goodbye, Drahanyuk hands Roksolana a transcript of “The Choice,” the best-selling memoir by Holocaust subsister and scientist Edith Eger. The purpose is that this tin beryllium a instrumentality to assistance process trauma. Zemlyachki has besides formed partnerships with subject psychologists to whom women successful combat tin scope out.
Other women, specified arsenic 25-year-old Alina Panina, are receiving intelligence enactment done the Ukrainian military. A borderline defender with a canine unit, Panina spent 5 months successful captivity astatine the infamous Olenivka situation successful the Russian-controlled Donetsk portion aft leaving the besieged Azovstal alloy works successful Mariupol.
She was yet released connected October 17 arsenic portion of an all-female captive speech with Russia and went into mandatory rehabilitation astatine a subject hospital, nether whose attraction she remains.
Ukraine precocious demanded that the International Committee of the Red Cross nonstop a delegation to the Russian captive of warfare camp.
“I was not prepared [for captivity], and we discussed this a batch with different women prisoners that beingness hasn’t prepared america for specified [an] ordeal,” Panina says astatine a pizza barroom tally by veterans successful downtown Kyiv.
She says situation guards “were unpredictable people” who sometimes abused prisoners verbally, but that she was spared immoderate carnal harm.
Now her partner’s destiny is up successful the air. He is besides a borderline defender who is inactive successful captivity. “I cognize helium is live but don’t cognize successful which situation helium is,” Panina says sadly arsenic she scrolls done pictures of him.
When asked what gives her hope, she simply says, “our men, our people.”