Dmytro, a ten-year veteran in the defence of Ukraine, has sustained multiple injuries and scars during his service. Despite this, his plan is to return to his special forces role at the front line this week. However, during a brief visit back home to the west of Ukraine, he used a service that is growing popular among soldiers and supports the nation’s future in another unique way.
Countless fertility clinics across Ukraine have begun to offer free or greatly reduced-cost IVF treatment to soldiers and their partners alongside free freezing and storing of their sperm and eggs. This follows a recent legislative shift in which funding for the preservation and use of reproductive cells of soldiers up to three years post-mortem was guaranteed.
This provision enhances the prospects of starting a family for Ukrainian nationals heading for battle in the continent’s largest conflict since World War II. It also reflects concerns over potential demographic woes in a nation that had a population of 51 million when it gained independence in 1991 but is feared to house merely half of that by 2050 according to some projections.
Dmytro (42), who wishes his surname to be kept confidential for safety, expresses his desire: “We wish for offspring. Irrespective of my fate, I want my offspring existing in this world. It’s about contributing to the rebirth of the Ukrainian nation”.
Prof Stefan Khmil, founder of a clinic that supports Dmytro and his wife Natalya in their journey to parentage, uses similar words to elucidate his decision to offer complimentary services to soldiers in the western Ukrainian cities of Lviv and Ternopil.
Khmil reports that through this project at his clinics, over 60 children have already been brought into the world with more than 80 women currently expecting. He initiated this program shortly after Russia fully invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Natalya, Dmytro’s wife, expresses relief, “Given the high-stress levels we’re all dealing with, perhaps we would have had offspring naturally. However, this option certainly alleviates one worry”.
According to recent records, Ukraine has one of the lowest birth rates globally with an average of 0.7 children per woman. To sustain and expand the nation’s population, an average of 2.2 offspring per woman is needed. This current situation in Ukraine is raising concerns about the extinction of the Ukrainian people. As a result, Ukrainian nationals, including health professionals keen on rebuilding the population, have stepped forward to address these fears.
The nation’s ongoing war has caused many men to join the army, while women have moved overseas. Thus, it’s important for the Ukrainian government to offer support to those intending to start families.
There are plans for government-sponsored programs to freeze and store the reproductive cells of soldiers, commencing next year. This would potentially increase their chances of parenthood, even if they come back from the battlefield with severe physical or mental injuries. Widow(er)s could also use these stored cells to conceive children with their late partners.
Despite the initial embarrassment this may cause, Dmytro’s wife Natalya (38) maintains that it offers some relief in these stressful times. As she states, soldiers are facing enormous stress, limiting their openness about their anxiety. Thus, this initiative would help lighten their burden.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, reported in February that about 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the last two years due to the conflict. There are suspicions, however, that the actual numbers may be much higher. Unofficial sources in the US alleged that nearly 70,000 Ukrainian and 120,000 Russian troops have been killed, while up to 120,000 and 180,000 from each side have been injured, respectively.
Despite a frontline Ukrainian soldier earning over €4,000 monthly, the base pay is just around €500, slightly above the national average. With military discounts now in place, the costly IVF treatments can become more manageable. Yuliia Opelya (30) affirms this stating, she and her spouse, who have been married since 2017, have always planned on undertaking IVF treatments.
“The cost of the procedure was quite high, leading to a delay as it was beyond what we could financially handle. However, the program designed for military personnel, like my husband, has enabled us to proceed,” she states.
Her husband serves in the national guard, which could see him being deployed to the front lines at any moment – today, tomorrow, or any day in the coming week. They both fervently yearn for a child. His status as his parents’ only son also amplifies this desire as their wish is to maintain the family lineage.
In the period preceding Russia’s full-scale invasion, which has now seen Ukraine fighting for its existence, 20 years of unstable independence resulted in declining population and reduced birth rates. Various factors were responsible including individuals leaving the country in search of work abroad, unsteady political conditions, rampant corruption, and extreme poverty which sparked two pro-democracy revolutions. And then, in 2014, Crimea was annexed by Russia, who went on to incite violence in the eastern region of Donbas.
According to UNHCR, there are close to 6.5 million Ukrainian refugees worldwide, a significant majority of them in European Union nations, alongside about 3.7 million individuals displaced within Ukraine.
An early year survey by the agency has shown that 65 percent of Ukrainian refugees and 72 percent of internally displaced persons harbour hopes of returning home someday. However, both figures have seen a 12 percent decline in comparison to the 2023 survey.
Nazar (28), a soldier from the Lviv region participating in in vitro fertilisation (IVF), highlighted the stark reality of war: many servicemen are not coming home. This gives a woman a chance of having a child with the man she loves.
Recent happenings at the frontline are unlikely to inspire Ukrainians abroad to return or trigger a baby high among those still residing in Ukraine. Over the past year, Russia has repeatedly seen positive outcomes from the conflict, progressively gaining ground in Donbas and stalling a Ukrainian counterattack in the southeast last summer.
Even though the Kremlin’s military has not made substantial major advances, it’s leveraging its larger industrial scale and human resources emanating from Russia’s 140 million population. This has started to put considerable strain on Ukraine’s defence, forcing it to overhaul and intensify its mobilisation efforts, and reduce the draft age from 27 to 25.
As the conflict in the east continues to induce suffering and increase Ukraine’s death toll, soldiers and their companions find solace in boosting their odds of raising a family at centres such as the ones overseen by Professor Khmil. Nazar (28), a soldier hailing from the Lviv region who chooses to withhold his last name, expresses that he is acutely aware of the potential for his deployment to the conflicted east, which might occur the following week or even the following day.
Nazar values the near-cost-free service at the retreat, which lightens their mental load, provided through the availability of IVF treatment for him and his wife, Khrystyna, complete with the option of sperm preservation. He acknowledges the harsh reality of war and the fact that numerous service members do not make it back home; hence this opportunity offers a safety net for women to still bear the offspring of their beloved partners.
Overwhelmed with emotions, Khrystyna (27), struggles to hold back her tears discussing this. She reiterates the increased importance of these clinics providing such services. She notes it influences the demeanour of couples and significantly reduces the despair felt by the wives of soldiers, to engage in proactive moves to safeguard their future, and act as a beacon of hope for the unmarried.