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Ukraine Begins Issuing Female-Fit Body Armor to Thousands of Servicewomen
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Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency has signed its first contract for female-specific body armor for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ordering 2,000 modular vests adapted to women’s anatomy.
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According to StateWatch on May 12, the contract was awarded to Ukrainian manufacturer Temp-3000, which is expected to deliver the equipment to central and western regions of Ukraine by June 25. The procurement marks the first known centralized purchase of female body armor for Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
The report says the modular vests include protection for the chest, back, sides, neck, and groin areas. Each unit costs 23,520 hryvnias (approximately $590). For comparison, male modular body armor in the same configuration was reportedly purchased between November 2025 and April 2026 at an average price of about 22,600 hryvnias per unit.
The female models include “demper inserts on the inner walls of the chest section or other solutions adapted to women’s anatomy.” The vests are produced in sizes ranging from S to XL and are designed for personnel between 162 cm and more than 190 cm tall. Depending on the size and configuration, the total weight ranges from 10.5 kg to 15.5 kg.
StateWatch noted that only one company—Temp-3000—participated in the tender published through Ukraine’s Prozorro procurement platform.
The analytical center described the scale of the purchase as insufficient relative to the number of women currently serving in Ukraine’s military. According to figures cited by StateWatch from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi’s March 2026 report, more than 75,000 women serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including over 55,000 active service members.
Centralized deliveries of female-specific body armor had not previously been carried out for Ukraine’s Defense Forces. The organization said the only publicly known earlier procurement involved a National Guard unit that purchased 20 sets of female body armor in 2025 through Prozorro.
The report also referenced health concerns linked to the use of standard-issue armor designed primarily for men. According to StateWatch, some servicewomen reported physical strain caused by the weight and chest pressure of conventional body armor systems.
As part of the study, StateWatch cited the case of Ukrainian veteran Natalia Lishchyshena, who underwent a double mastectomy after several years of military service.
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The organization quoted her as saying: “My illness was officially recognized as acquired. If speaking in official language, it says: ‘the disease is connected with the defense of the Motherland.’”
According to StateWatch, Ukraine’s Logistics Forces Command has also included at least 10,000 winter jackets and 10,000 winter trousers for women in its 2026 requirements plan. The report says contracts for the trousers were signed in January.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry reported that women accounted for 20% of applicants at military recruitment centers nationwide, while the Armed Forces also introduced their first female summer field uniforms and began developing female-specific body armor.
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