Who is the Ukrainian politician who demanded that special uniforms be made for female soldiers?

Evaluating the production of special uniforms for the first time for female soldiers, Maliar stated that such a uniform is now needed, especially in wartime conditions.

Maliar, a trained lawyer, urged those who claimed to have been targeted to interview her after a soldier claimed that a commander in a combat unit had ordered her female subordinates to have sex with her or face their husbands being sent to the front. She also said she would investigate allegations that women in the armed forces had made allegations of sexual harassment or were threatened with being sent to psychiatric units because they wanted to be transferred to a combat unit, and warned that she would personally take provable cases to the police.

"I will protect female soldiers"

The allegations were brought forward by a 27-year-old sergeant named Nadiya Haran, who spoke to the Guardian last week, and Haran stated that she had to ask for her appointment from her previous unit after being told to shut up after telling senior officers about the situation. Maliar said she would meet with Haran and protect the female soldiers who came forward to testify.

Hanna Vasylivna Maliar (born 28 July 1978) is a Ukrainian lawyer and educator who has been serving as one of the several Deputy Ministers of Defense under Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal since 4 August 2021. A graduate of the International Institute of Linguistics and Law in Kyiv, she was a docent at the same institute before she began working for the state.

She added that she would be happy to talk to the minister about the allegations, Haran told the Guardian. Approximately 60 thousand women work in the army, of which 42 thousand are soldiers. 5,000 of them are fighting at the front. Some people who spoke to the Guardian complained about the lack of women's combat uniforms and protective armor. Maliar said that a new uniform for female soldiers has been approved and is out for tender. The defense ministry is known to aim to distribute the new uniforms this fall.

"Many countries do not have such a uniform"

Maliar said, "For war, the uniform needs to be improved. We need to create uniforms for women. Even underwear needs to be appropriate. Bra straps should not bother when a woman is holding a machine gun. You need underwear to help you go to the toilet in combat conditions. This is the case for war conditions. "We had to develop a uniform. And like in many other countries around the world, such a uniform didn't exist."

Stating that the development of the uniform took time, Maliar said, "Because it takes long tests. Women in focus groups have to wear various versions of this uniform and then choose the best one. This took time. Now this sample uniform has been approved. The next step is to find a supplier who can provide uniforms in this volume. "We approved a sample of this uniform last week," she said.

Maliar said that the Ukrainian army is looking for protective vests for women, but the standards on the market are not high enough and the defense ministry wants to manufacture its own.