As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, Ukrainian troops are freezing their sperm in an effort to protect their family’s genes.

According to the New York Times, the procedure has evolved into a sort of national obligation and is now being provided for free at a number of regional clinics.

At least some of the male soldiers are taking this action to fight against what they perceive to be the Russians trying to exterminate them and their countrymen, in addition to being a method to provide some solace to their partners who were left behind.

Nataliya Kyrkach-Antonenko told the New York Times that her husband passed away on the battlefield while she was three months pregnant. “The modern world allows us to give birth and raise the children of our fallen loved ones — the bravest and most courageous humans in this world,” she added.

A plan that would have the government finance the service is currently being discussed in the Ukrainian Parliament, which appears to be assuming the mantle as well.

The concept is not novel. According to the New York Times, numerous cryogenic firms offered to freeze the sperm of American soldiers before they deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The number of Ukrainian soldiers that have consented to take part is unknown.

The Ukrainian Association of Reproductive Medicine’s president, Dr Mykhailovych Yuzko, however, claimed that clinics all around Ukraine had seen an increase in demand.

According to the clinic’s director, Halyna Strelko, some 100 troops have had their sperm frozen at IVMED.