The Ministry of Defense purchased 2,000 women’s bulletproof vests for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the first time
The Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for the first time purchased two thousand women’s modular body armor for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Until now, female servicemen were provided with mainly men’s models of personal protective equipment.
The new equipment in the configuration (1–5) is designed to protect the chest, back, sides, neck, and groin area. The contract for production was awarded to the research and production enterprise Temp-3000, which is to deliver the products to the central and western regions of the country by June 25.
“The women’s bulletproof vest contains damping (softening) inserts on the inner walls of the chest cover or other solutions that adapt it to the anatomy of women. The sizes of such bulletproof vests vary from S to XL,” representatives of the analytical center emphasized.
According to the technical characteristics, the models are adapted to heights from one hundred and sixty-two to over one hundred and ninety centimeters, and their weight ranges from ten and a half to fifteen and a half kilograms. The need for such equipment is critical, as the use of heavy male protective equipment often led to health problems in women.
In particular, there is a well-known case of a veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Natalia Lischyshena, who underwent surgery due to prolonged wearing of inappropriate equipment. Her illness was officially recognized as related to the defense of the Motherland.
Currently, more than fifty-five thousand women serve in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, so the first purchased batch covers only a part of the current needs. In addition to body armor, ten thousand sets of women’s winter uniforms are planned for 2026. Also in February, the Defense Procurement Agency first purchased one hundred thousand sets of women’s thermal underwear for various weather conditions.
Providing female servicemen with adapted equipment is part of the modernization strategy of the Ukrainian army. The introduction of anatomically correct protective equipment allows not only to increase the effectiveness of combat missions, but also to significantly reduce risks to the health of personnel.
