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Ukraine Launches State-Funded Reproductive Cell Storage for Active Service Members
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Ukraine has begun funding the freezing and storage of soldiers’ sperm and eggs under a state program designed to help service members preserve the option of having children in the future, according to the BBC on February 16.
The program, introduced in 2025, allows eligible service personnel to receive free medical examinations, reproductive cell collection, cryopreservation, and ongoing storage.
The parliament said the initiative was implemented under legislation adopted in 2023 and 2024, and is financed from the state budget for the duration of martial law and for six months after it ends.
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According to the parliamentary notice, the benefit is available to members of Ukraine’s Armed Forces and other military formations and specialized law enforcement and intelligence bodies, as well as police and certain other state services who take part in combat operations or carry out national security tasks in combat areas.
The notice said applicants must submit a report to their commander, obtain a signed referral for examinations, and then apply to a healthcare facility contracted by Ukraine’s National Health Service, with information on participating providers also available through the service’s hotline.
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The outlet said that the measure reflects an effort to give troops and their partners more certainty about family planning despite wartime risks, and to support Ukrainians who want to build families after military service.
Ukrainian officials have described the program as aimed at safeguarding the right to biological parenthood and motherhood, presenting it as an investment in the country’s future as the war continues.
Ukraine has faced steep demographic strain since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with UNFPA saying the population fell to 35.8 million in July 2024 from 42 million in January 2022.
UNFPA also cited Ukrainian Justice Ministry data showing 176,700 births in 2024—35% fewer than in 2021—and said the fertility rate is projected at about 0.9 children per woman, while UNHCR said 5.86 million Ukrainian refugees were recorded globally by December 2025.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine introduced a state program allowing eligible service members and security personnel to collect, cryopreserve, and store reproductive cells free of charge during martial law and for a period afterward.
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