Tatyana Ostashchenko became the first woman to hold the post of commander of the medical forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was announced on Friday, July 30, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports.
"For the first time, a woman headed one of the commands in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We are steadily moving towards the construction of a new type of Armed Forces. Thanks to the reform of the army in accordance with the principles and approaches of NATO, women now have the opportunity to perform military service on an equal basis with men," said the country's Defense Minister Andrei Taran.
He also noted that the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, expressed "his unconditional support for this choice."
According to the minister, Tatyana Ostashchenko has extensive experience and understands the front of work facing her. It is reported that she served as the chief inspector of the main inspection of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Taran also noted that the statistics clearly demonstrates how a woman has integrated into the Ukrainian army. According to him, almost a quarter of the total number of armed forces are women.
Earlier, in February, it was reported that Pope Francis appointed a woman to the synod of bishops of the Catholic Church for the first time. Nathalie Beckwart, a 52-year-old French nun, became the deputy Secretary General of the Synod.
Earlier, in January 2020, a woman, Zeina Aker, took the post of defense minister in the new government of Lebanon for the first time in the country's history, she also took the post of deputy head of government.