A worsening Ukraine demographic crisis is pushing soldiers to freeze sperm before returning to the battlefield, as the war’s human toll and long-term demographic damage become increasingly visible.
Serving near the eastern frontline, a 35-year-old National Guard soldier known as Maxim chose to leave a sperm sample at a Kyiv clinic during recent leave so his wife could still have the child they hope for if he is killed.
“Our men are dying. The Ukrainian gene pool is dying. This is about the survival of our nation,” he said, warning that constant stress, drone threats and frontline danger may also harm soldiers’ reproductive health.
Freezing fertility during wartime
Private fertility clinics began offering free cryopreservation to Ukrainian servicemen and women in 2022, allowing them to freeze sperm or eggs in case of injury, infertility or death.
Parliament later regulated the practice and introduced state funding. Lawmaker Oksana Dmitrieva said the policy aims to support soldiers who defend the country’s future while risking their own.
Early legislation triggered public backlash because it required clinics to destroy samples after a donor’s death. Lawmakers later amended the rules, allowing storage for up to three years and permitting partners to use the material with written consent.
Demographic pressures intensify
The programme also targets a demographic crisis that existed before Russia’s invasion but has sharply worsened due to battlefield deaths and the mass departure of refugees, most of them women.
Ongoing missile strikes on energy infrastructure have left parts of Kyiv freezing during winter, deepening uncertainty about the future and discouraging childbirth.
Dmitrieva said encouraging soldiers to preserve fertility marks a small but necessary step toward rebuilding Ukraine’s population.
Falling pregnancies and wartime trauma
Kyiv’s state reproductive medicine centre began enrolling soldiers in the freezing programme in January. Only a small number have joined so far, but officials expect demand to rise.
Clinic director Oksana Holikova said pregnancies have dropped by half since the full-scale invasion began. Many women face stress-related health problems, widespread antidepressant use and what she described as “delayed life syndrome”, as fear of air raids and instability forces them to postpone childbirth.
Legal battles for military families
Access to frozen embryos or sperm still creates legal struggles for some families. Katerina Malyshko’s husband Vitaly died in a guided bomb strike while the couple were undergoing fertility treatment.
Although the clinic stored their embryos, staff first refused to allow her to continue treatment. After a six-month court battle, a judge ruled in her favour, restoring the possibility of having her husband’s child in the future.
Katerina said the decision brought both grief and relief and described it as a way to honour her husband’s sacrifice, even though she does not yet feel ready to proceed with pregnancy.
Future generations at stake
Back on the frontline, Maxim believes wider awareness will prove essential. He argues that officials should encourage soldiers to freeze sperm when drafted, similar to providing DNA for identification.
“Maybe tomorrow I’m gone,” he said. “But my wife will have my sperm and can use it. It’s one less thing to worry about.”
For Ukraine, he added, protecting the next generation may prove as vital as winning the war itself.
Also read: Russia-Ukraine to hold third talks round amid ongoing strikes
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