Home-grown supply operation outfits Ukraine's women soldiers

Ukrainian soldier Anastasia Mokhina (third left), and co-founders Kseniia Drahaniuk (third right), and husband Andrii Kolesnyk, (middle) of the nonprofit group Zemliachky pose for a photo in its supply room in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photos: AP

When 25-year-old Anastasia Mokhina donned fatigues and rushed off with her husband to help Ukraine defend itself as Russia invaded on Feb. 24, she quickly realised the military wasn’t well prepared for an influx of women volunteers.

So her elder half-brother Andrii Kolesnyk, who was prevented from doing military service by a childhood disability, and his wife, Kseniia Drahaniuk, mobilised at home to ship her needed items. Word spread fast inside the ranks that amateur quartermasters were focusing on women’s particular needs, and a home-grown supply operation for female soldiers was born.