On NATO stage, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense leads way on progress for all

09.05.2024 18:56

Ukrinform

Almost two and a half decades into the 21st Century, gender equity, equality, and differences remain a topic of intense focus and discussion among those in civil society.

Less talked about, but possibly more important, is the role that gender plays in the sphere of security and peace. Through this lens of Women, Peace, and Security, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defense, Nataliya Kalmykova, found herself headlining the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives 2024 Annual Conference at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

In addition to Deputy Minister Kalmykova's representation of Ukraine at the multi-national gathering, the event organizers asked me to present my experiences engaging in strategic, offensive information operations during Ukraine's war for liberation against russian aggression. This invite came just over six months after leaders from Ukraine's Security Service Academy offered analysis to the same NATO panel showing that the communications work I was involved in producing and carrying out in coordination with the team from Territorial Defense Forces' Media, was shown to have been the second most effective info-op of the war behind only the powerful, history-changing effectiveness of President Zelensky himself.

After receiving permission from my command to take part, I departed for Brussels. From the first hour of the conference, I immediately began viewing the fight for peace from an entirely new vantage point. By the end of it, after absorbing lessons from senior officers and leading academics from countries across the globe and listening with pride to Deputy Minister Kalmykova's keynote presentation relating to the groundbreaking work emanating from Ukraine on the topic, it became clear that the topic of gender wasn't something to waste soundbites on. On the contrary, all aspects of gender needed to be studied and incorporated into the free world's efforts at preserving individual liberty and democracy in the face of the authoritarian efforts to destroy it, efforts led by the russian fascists.

While much of the event's findings were for internal discussion only, multiple moments of the two-day confab resonated across nationalities and languages. Attendee Lynn Holland, a United States Department of Justice contractor, stood up in the hushed auditorium and narrated her appointment of being the only female negotiator in the US's dealings with the Kosovo Liberation Army, along with sharing time from her work in Haiti during the Aristide regime as the lone woman alongside 25 male colleagues. Other influential leaders in the fields of gender perspectives and women, peace, and security told powerful tales of how female-only engagement teams stopped terror attacks and women-only NATO flight crews carried out missions of critical importance.

Along with the free-wheeling audience discussion and breakout groups, the NATO NCGP executive committee, headed by US Air Force Colonel Select Jane Male, empaneled presentations focused on such diverse topics as "Applying a Gender Lens for the Evolving Security Environment," "Cooperative Security: WPS in Practice from Partner Perspectives," and the Ukraine-centric "Strategic Communications: The Gender Dimensions of the Fight for Influence and Advantage in the Information Environment." The last panel, which also included me and was led by Canadian Army Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Lake, focused on the groundbreaking work taking place in Ukraine regarding gender in the military. Deputy Minister Kalmykova's presentation revealed extraordinary achievements in these fields thanks to the vision of President Zelesnkyy, guidance and strength of Commander in Chief Colonel-General Syrskyi, and a diligent commitment and welcome collaboration to advance gender rights in Ukraine's Defense Forces between the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The theme of Deputy Minister Kalmykova's online presentation "Gender Dynamics in the Information Environment: Ukrainian Perspective in Times of War" emphasized that in the wake of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the role of strategic communications emerged as a cornerstone in Ukraine's march to victory; this included the implementation of forward-looking strategies used to help debunk gender stereotypes while strengthening national resilience in the face of russian aggression. An essential aspect of Ukraine's information operations since russia's illegal invasion included integrating gender into civilian and military responses to counter the enemy's attempts at propaganda.

Additionally, the Deputy Minister revealed to the assembled audience that the Ministry actively advances gender equality policies across various departments and directorates, including the issuance of an official order from the MOD in April of this year directing that all internal and external communication apply gender-sensitive language in the military. Furthermore, Deputy Minister Kalmykova shared numbers showing that programs developed by the Ukrainian MOD in conjunction with the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Morale and Psychological Services, led by Major General Vladyslav Klochkov and carried out under the watch of Colonel Maria Pavlenko, resulted in a more than 40% increase in the number of women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2021. Currently, almost 67,000 women voluntarily serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 47,000 of whom are military personnel, with more than 4,000 serving on the front line. Also noted is the consistent influx of women who want to join the military through Ukraine's enhanced and modernized recruiting system.

By the end of the annual conference, several points related to Ukraine's participation in winning future peace on behalf of the international community were clear. In addition to President Zelesnkyy's robust and vital 10-point peace formula and having NATO's most successful and invaluable combat commander, Colonel-General Syrskyi, helming its battlefield efforts, Ukraine also showed that in areas of modernization and progress, dynamic professionals such as the Deputy Minister Kalmykova had taken the lead not just in neutralizing russian terror tactics, but pushing past preconceived notions to position the country as an integral and valued leader on a global level both the civilian and military spheres.

By advancing sensitive issues such as the role of gender while ensuring the rights of every person during the full-scale war and ongoing genocide against the entire Ukrainian populace are protected, Ukraine's current elected leadership and military commanders have made clear that in addition to liberating the country, they are also at the forefront of safeguarding democracy and democratic values, not only within Ukraine but on behalf of the world as a whole.

Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo

The author's opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Ukrinform's editorial board.