By Koh Ewe VICE

Women have played a vital role in Ukraine’s national defense since 2014, as the number of female recruits has grown in response to Russian aggression.

Kristina had been living with her family in Italy for over a decade, working at the supermarket and singing at weddings in her spare time. But as military tensions rose a year ago along Ukraine’s eastern border, the 29-year-old Ukrainian woman returned to her country of birth to become a soldier.

She was fully aware of the danger she was getting herself into—since 2014, Ukraine has been the target of Russian-backed aggression in its eastern region of Donbas.

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