Yulia Mykytenko
Native name
Юлія Микитенко
Nickname(s)"Symirochka" (Ukrainian: "Симірочка")
Born (1995-07-18) July 18, 1995
Kyiv, Ukraine
Allegiance Ukraine
Branch Ukrainian Ground Forces
Years of service2016-2021 and since 2022
Ranksenior lieutenant
Unit 54th Mechanized Brigade (2016-2018; since 2022)
Ivan Bohun Military High School (2018-2021)
Battles/warsBattle of Svitlodarsk
AwardsOrder for Courage (3rd class)
Alma materNational University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (2012-2016)
Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy (2017)

Yulia Mykytenko (Ukrainian: Микитенко Юлія Миколаївна, born 18 July 1995 in Kyiv, Ukraine)[1] is a military servicewoman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, combatant of the Russo-Ukrainian War, recipient of the Order for Courage (3rd class),[2] activist of the сivic movement "Vidsich" and of the NGO "Female veterans movement".[1]

Biography

Early years

She was born on 18 July 1995 in Kyiv. Her parents have met while working at a currency exchange point: her mother was a cashier and her father was a security guard.[3] As a child, Julia dreamed of becoming a simultaneous translator. In 2012, she entered the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, which she graduated in 2016 with a degree in philology.[4]

During the Euromaidan she was in the "Female Squad" of the 16th regiment of the Euromaidan Self-defence Force. Together with other Kyiv-Mohyla Academy students she was participating in demonstrations taking part near numerous universities all over Kyiv, calling on students to join the protests.[3] Right after Euromaidan she took part in the activities of the сivic movement "Vidsich" (particularly, in the campaign "Do not buy Russian goods!"). She also did some open-source intelligence for the Ukrainian military: she searched and collected information about Russian military in Twitter.[5] Meanwhile, her father volunteered for the National Guard of Ukraine in February 2014.[6]

54th Mechanized Brigade

In March 2015 she met with military serviceman Ilia Serbin of the 54th Mechanized Brigade, when her father (with whom she was living at the moment) was asked to let Serbin stay overnight at his home.[7] Three month later they have married. The couple decided to join the 54th Mechanized Brigade together, right after Mykytenko graduated from the university. At that time, the brigade was fighting near Svitlodar, one of the heaviest warfares of the Ukrainian frontline. They did exactly that on 17 July 2016 (beforehand, Ilia had already served in the brigade as a mobilized person).[8]

After two months of service at the headquarters, Ilia was assigned to a combat position - a scout. Yulia was appointed to a clerk position at the headquarters, since at that time women were not allowed to hold combat positions.[9] Yulia worked as a clerk and then as an accountant for about a year. In the spring of 2017, as a person with a higher education, she was sent to a three-month officer course at the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy in Lviv. Upon her return, she was appointed to a position of commander of a motorized infantry platoon, and later a commander of a reconnaissance platoon (her experience in data collection and analytics contributed to this). However, according to Yulia, she encountered a lot of sexism and skepticism about that "a woman can fight". It even got to the point that some soldiers refused to fight under the command of a woman and were transferred to other units. She had to make considerable efforts to gain respect and obedience from her subordinates.[10]

Ivan Bohun Military High School

On 22 February 2018 her husband died as a result of mortar shelling near the town of Luhanske.[11] Yulia decided to transfer to a teacher position at the Ivan Bohun Military High School. The very same year, girls were allowed to enter the school for the very first time, and Yulia was appointed a commander of a very first female platoon of twenty girls.[12] According to Yulia, she took this job very seriously, because the success of this experimental female class was crucial for whether the girls would continue to be accepted to the school and for how successful the reforms will be to increase the number and improve conditions for women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[13] In addition to the usual duties of a class curator, Yulia also had to deal with the everyday problems of her subordinates, since the school, like the Armed Forces of Ukraine in general, was not completely adapted for the education and accommodation of girls.[4]

At night of 11 October 2020 her father, Mykola Mykytenko, also a veteran of the Donbas war, set himself on fire at the Independence Square in Kyiv to show his protest against the policies of Volodymyr Zelenskyy administration, which he considered to be leading the country into capitulation. Three days later, on 14 October, he died of his burns.[14][15] Thus, because of the war, she lost both her husband and her father.[16]

Russian full-scale invasion

On 2 September 2021 she left the Armed Forces of Ukraine, planning to build her career somewhere in the civilian sphere. After leaving the army, she worked as a project manager in the human rights public project "Invisible Battalion" and in several other projects for the reintegration of war veterans into society, for example in the "Veteranius" initiative.[17][18][1]

She was mobilized back to the Armed Forces of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, when the Russian full-scale invasion into Ukraine began. For the first few months, she served in a unit located in Kyiv, and after the liberation of the north of Ukraine, she returned to the 54th Mechanized Brigade (where she served back then, during the Donbas war), which was fighting in the Donetsk Oblast.[16] On 14 October 2022 she was awarded the Order for Courage (3rd class) by decree of the President of Ukraine.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Panteleieva, Ksenia (27 January 2022). "Щоб тебе сприймали нарівні з чоловіками, гаруй удесятеро більше" [If you want to be perceived as equal to men, work ten times harder]. Kraina (in Ukrainian) (607 ed.): 30–34. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Указ Президента України №698/2022 «Про відзначення державними нагородами України»" [Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 698/2022 "On awarding with State Awards of Ukraine"] (in Ukrainian). President of Ukraine. 14 October 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 Burlakova, Valeria (9 November 2020). "Донька ветерана Миколи Микитенка, що вчинив акт самоспалення на Майдані: "Рішення розводити війська батько сприйняв болісно. Під лінію потрапляла і Світлодарська дуга, де загинув мій чоловік"" [Daughter of veteran Mykola Mykytenko, who committed self-immolation on the Independence Square: "The decision to withdraw the troops was taken painfully by my father. The Svitlodar frontline, where my husband died, also was a part of this"] (in Ukrainian). Censor.net. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 Ivantsiv, Oksana (6 March 2020). "Ветеранка Юлія Микитенко: "Я хочу, щоб ліцеїстки були тими, хто зажене в стійло старих офіцерів-командирів"" [Yulia Mykytenko, a veteran: "I want female lyceum cadets to be those, who will have a nerve to confront old-generation commanding officers"] (in Ukrainian). Bez broni. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  5. ↑ Porkhun, Tetiana (27 January 2022). "Жінці на війні треба впахувати вдесятеро більше, ніж чоловіку" [A woman during the war should work ten times more than a man] (in Ukrainian). Gazeta.ua. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Командир взводу дівчат-ліцеїстів — Юлія Микитенко" [Commander of the girl cadets platoon - Yulia Mykytenko] (in Ukrainian). Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. 27 June 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  7. ↑ Fedchenko, Anastasia (30 September 2019). "Перший в Україні командир дівочого взводу Юлія Микитенко: Коли одягаєш форму, проблема статі відпадає" [Yulia Mykytenko, the first commander of the girl platoon in Ukraine: When you take on a uniform, the problem of gender disappears] (in Ukrainian). Novynarnia. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  8. ↑ Omelianchuk, Olha (24 August 2019). ""Що ти робитимеш, якщо я помру?" Вдови, молодші за незалежність" ["What will you do if I die?" Widows younger than [Ukraines] independence]. Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Ziatiev, Serhiy (23 January 2020). "Лейтенантку на війну покликало… кохання" [The lieutenant has found herself at the frontline because of... love] (in Ukrainian). АрміяInform. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Holiachenko, Oleksandra (22 February 2022). "Бухгалтерія, розвідка й офіцерська посада: історія жінки, яка стала професійною військовою" [Accounting, intelligence, and officership: the story of a woman who became a professional military] (in Ukrainian). Nash Kyiv. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Panteleieva, Ksenia (26 January 2022). ""Єдиний раз було страшно, коли в радіостанції почула: "Два 300" – колишня командирка розвідвзводу про загибель чоловіка" ["The only time I was scared was when I heard in my walkie-talkie: "two soldiers down" - a former commander of a reconnaissance platoon about the death of her husband] (in Ukrainian). Gazeta.ua. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  12. ↑ Omelianchuk, Olha (31 August 2019). ""Буду льотчиком, як і батько". Як у Київському військовому ліцеї живе перший взвод дівчат" [«I will be a jet pilot, like my father». How the first platoon of girls lives in the Military High School]. Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Komarova, Olha (12 September 2019). "Кадетки. Перший жіночий взвод військового ліцею" [Girl-cadets: the first female platoon of the Military School]. YouTube (in Ukrainian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  14. ↑ Свобода, Радіо (14 October 2020). "Помер ветеран АТО Микитенко, який вчинив акт самоспалення – рідні" [Donbas War veteran Mykytenko, who self-immolated, have died - [his] relatives [say]]. Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  15. ↑ Komarova, Olha (22 October 2020). "Самоспалення Миколи Микитенка: дочка ветерана розповіла, що сказала б Зеленському" [Self-immolation of Mykola Mykytenko: the daughter of the veteran told what she would say to Zelenskyy]. Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  16. 1 2 Popova, Kateryna (22 July 2022). "Жінки на фронті: 10 запитань старшій лейтенантці ЗСУ Юлії Микитенко" [Women at the front: 10 questions to Yulia Mykytenko, senior lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] (in Ukrainian). Elle. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Старший лейтенант Юлія Микитенко: "Зараз вже не відмовляються бути під моїм командуванням через те, що я — жінка"" [Senior Lieutenant Yulia Mykytenko: "Now they no longer refuse to be under my command because I am a woman"] (in Ukrainian). WoMo. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  18. ↑ Veteranius - Razom
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