Ukraine’s first female volunteer lieutenant warns women not to ‘romanticise’ war

A woman who became Ukraine's first female volunteer to gain a full military contract has warned other young women not to "romanticise" the war before they sign up.

Iryna Sergeyeva, 39, issued the stark warning as she continues to fight on the frontline in response to Vladimir Putin's ongoing attack.

The former media relations specialist joined Ukraine's armed forces as a reservist in 2017 and has since become the first female volunteer to be made an army lieutenant.

The 39-year-old is believed to be working as a chief volunteer forces organiser for her district of Kyiv, which means she has seen a variety of people who are requesting to join the battle.

Iryna has been supportive to volunteers who have signed up to defend Ukraine against Russia's invasion but says she also wants to be honest with them, reports the Daily Mail.

"In the first days, a lot of young women came wanting to get their hands on a rifle so that they could go out and fight," she said while holding a Kalashnikov rifle in an underground garage turned military training base.

"I understood that many of these young women were romanticising everything a little bit. Their heroic spirits were stirring.

"They were telling themselves they were about to go out and fight without really understanding how it all works."

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She added: "I had to nod my head while gently telling them, ‘No, you might not be suited for this’.

“But then this was also true with some of the guys.”

Among the influx of women signing up to the fight is former Miss Grand Ukraine beauty queen Anastasiia Lenna.

The model decided to step away from her job as a public relations manager to join the frontline to help protect her country from Putin's deadly troops.

She recently updated her thousands of Instagram followers and stressed: "I am not a military, just a woman, just normal human.

"Just a person, like all people of my country. I am also an airsoft player for years. You can Google what #airsoft means.

"All pictures in my profile to inspire people. I had a normal life just on Wednesday, like millions people.

"I don’t do any propaganda except showing that our woman of Ukraine – strong, confident and powerful."

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