Ukrainian wartime policy and the construction of women's combatant status

Abstract

This article examines the role of gender in the designation of individuals as civilians and as combatants in the Ukraine conflict (2014–2022). In particular, I explore how gendered decisions by the state have created a conceptual gray zone regarding the combatant status of women through an analysis of three key Ukrainian government policy decisions: the February 2015 military mobilization of women, the December 2021 requirement that professional women register for conscription, and the February 2022 declaration of martial law. I demonstrate that while the Ukrainian state seeks to benefit operationally from women in combatant roles, the need for additional (wo)manpower has come into conflict with gender norms that position women as civilians, even in the context of war. The state's gender ideology simultaneously denies men the status of civilians despite their greater likelihood of being targeted by Russian forces. These gendered policy decisions have forced combatant status on men while making most women's combatant status voluntary.