‘I Can’t Say No to Mothers in Need.’ The Foreign Women Joining Ukraine’s Fight Against Russia

Sandra Anderson Eira doesn’t go short of appreciation. Fighting on the front line in Ukraine, the 35-year-old says locals have given her chocolate, roses, and even pairs of socks.

“There have also been gifts of hugs and tears, happy tears,” she says. Formerly a member of the Sami Parliament in her native Norway, with a 10-year career at the helm of a commercial fishing ship, she has been battling Russian troops since early March.