Since the Maidan (Revolution of Dignity) and the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine in spring 2014, there have been substantial changes in public discourse on normative femininity in Ukraine, with a noticeable trend toward the normalization of the image of a woman-warrior. I argue that this process can be understood as the evolution and expansion of normative femininity through the adoption of the idea of a woman who is capable of fighting back (in the broadest sense) as an integral part of it. Through a discourse analysis of textual and visual materials from conventional and social media, as well as some recent cultural works (visual arts, literary works, crafts, films etc.) I show how the image of the militant woman (pertaining to both female soldiers and civilian women) evolves and gains momentum as a hybrid form of femininity. To justify their right and ability to be full participants in this existential battle, Ukrainian women refer to the historical legacy of Ukrainian women (including female warriors and political leaders of the past) and seek to legitimize the unique potential of women to defend their homeland by drawing on elements of Ukrainian folk culture that are considered areas of female expertise and power. By revisiting, revising, and sometimes reinventing episodes of Ukrainian history and gendered elements of folk traditions, authors invest them with new meaning, thereby upholding and promoting women’s claims to active citizenship. The timeframe of the study covers the period of the russo-Ukrainian war of 2014-2024, with special attention to the period of full-scale russian aggression from February 24, 2022 to the present.